Is there any significant difference between 駆け回る and 駆け巡る?

Question

I already knew the word 駆け回る, which means "to run about", "to bustle about". Well, I recently came across the term 駆け巡る that seems to mean the same.

Are both words safely interchangeable? Is there any nuance or difference between them?

Answer 1

Both mean mostly the same but are not very interchangeable.

A general distinction would be

• 駆け回る is casual, means literally something is running about. Sometimes it has negative connotation of "in vain".
• 駆け巡る is often used for spreading of news. It can take animate subjects, but sounds a bit strained or affected. It usually means "purposefully going to many places".

Examples:

• 子供がスーパーで駆け回った The child ran about in a supermarket.

Using 駆け巡る here is odd. It sounds like the child is doing so for a specific purpose.

• ニュースが世界中を駆け巡った The news spread all over the world.

Using 駆け回った is much less idiomatic.

• 私は世界中を駆け回った I travelled all around the world.

This is more likely to be used than 駆け巡った, which sounds like a sentence in an autobiography.

• あちこち駆け回ったが金は集まらなかった I went everywhere (asking for money) but was unable to collect money.

Using 駆け巡る is not possible.