丸める

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 丸める is read as まるめる and is a transitive verb meaning to make something round or to roll or crumple paper, dough, or similar material into a compact shape.
• Basic usage: Crumpling paper into a small ball appears in 紙を小さく丸める, while rounding dough with the palms appears in 生地を手のひらで丸める.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The object takes を
  • Because an agent changes the shape of paper, dough, or another object, that object is marked with を.
• Difference from 丸くなる
  • Unlike the intransitive expression for something becoming round, this verb describes someone making an object round.