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I am quite sure that it is not 'bus rotary' in proper English, because I've never heard that my entire life. Also, when I search for "bus rotary" on Google, I only get Japanese sites, and sites about 'rotary doors' for buses, which is not what it refers to here. I'm sure there is some kind of a proper name for this but I don't know what it is.
I also thought about 'bus turnout', but when I searched for that it showed a picture that looks a bit different: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_turnout (see pic on right)
And I do think a 'turnout' wouldn't be round...
What would バスロータリー be called in English, in normal terms that native English speakers would actually say?
Explanation: I think "bus roundabout" gets the idea across fine. Left by itself "roundabout" would have a different meaning, but modified by "bus" it should be okay, I would think. Anyway, here's another option.
If it's for directions, and what the area is actually called is not important, can't you be just descriptive, like "walk past the rotary/roundabout where you see (number) bus stops," etc.?
In that case you'd probably be better off with "bus roundabout" or "bus rotary." Freedictionary.com includes a traffic definition for "rotary," but I have never heard it used that way. I do not see that definition in other dictionaries (Random House, Webster's), either.
Who is the information written for? If the audience is people wanting to get on the bus, then boarding area should suffice, because they don't care what shape it is, they just want to know where to go to get on.
Based on the information I have, I do not believe there is a 'bus terminal' in the area. I believe it is a round area like the first picture I showed, where buses turn around, drive through, and/or pick up/drop off people. It could be in front of any place, such as a hotel, train station, etc.
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Answers
12 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
Bus boarding area
Explanation: I think "bus roundabout" gets the idea across fine. Left by itself "roundabout" would have a different meaning, but modified by "bus" it should be okay, I would think. Anyway, here's another option.
casey Japan Local time: 09:27 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 51
Grading comment
Thanks for all your help... I am awarding Casey the points because his comments were the most helpful.
Notes to answerer
Asker: yeah... I'm pondering bus roundabout
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peer agreement (net): +1
