迷路

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 迷路 is a noun read めいろ, meaning a maze with branching paths that make the exit difficult to find.
• Basic usage: Use 庭の迷路 for a physical garden maze and 複雑な迷路を描く for a maze drawn on paper.
  • 庭の迷路で出口が分からなくなりました。 describes losing track of the exit in a garden maze; 子どもは紙に複雑な迷路を描いて友達に渡しました。 describes a child drawing a complicated maze on paper and giving it to a friend.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 迷路で
  • で marks the maze as the place where the exit became unclear.
• 出口が分からなくなる
  • なる expresses a change into not knowing the exit rather than merely a fixed lack of knowledge.
• 紙に迷路を描く
  • に marks the drawing surface, while を marks what is drawn.