絡み合う

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 絡み合う combines 絡む, to become entangled, with reciprocal 合う and is an intransitive verb for multiple things intertwining.
• Basic usage: It applies to physical objects such as threads and to abstract factors such as interests that are hard to separate.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Physical and abstract entanglement
  • Threads can be literally tangled, while interests are figuratively interwoven into a complex problem.
• Reciprocity of 合う
  • The compound emphasizes elements entangling with one another, not merely one item catching unilaterally on another.