Translation guide
How to express 'fall over' in Japanese, covering physical falling, objects tipping, and figurative uses.
A person or animal loses balance and falls to the ground.
Most common word for a person or animal falling over, often by tripping or slipping.
子供が石につまずいて転んだ。
The child tripped on a stone and fell over.
雨の日は転びやすい。
It's easy to fall over on rainy days.
To fall over from a standing position, often used for people collapsing or large objects falling. Implies falling flat.
彼は疲れてベッドに倒れた。
He was so tired he fell over onto the bed.
地震で本棚が倒れた。
The bookshelf fell over in the earthquake.
Onomatopoeic adverb for falling over with a thud, often used in casual or playful contexts.
バナナの皮で滑ってすってんころりと転んだ。
I slipped on a banana peel and fell over with a thud.
An upright object loses balance and falls to its side.
General word for an upright object falling over. Intransitive.
花瓶が倒れて水がこぼれた。
The vase fell over and water spilled.
To be extremely eager to do something, often used figuratively.
Literally 'me first', used to describe people scrambling or falling over each other to do something.
人々は我先にバスに乗り込んだ。
People were falling over themselves to get on the bus.
Competing to do something, often used in contexts like 'falling over each other to help'.
彼らは競って彼女を手伝おうとした。
They were falling over themselves to help her.
To be so drunk that one cannot stand properly.
Literally 'get drunk and fall over', a straightforward description.
彼は酔っ払って道で倒れた。
He got drunk and fell over in the street.
To drink oneself into a stupor, often implying collapsing or passing out.
彼は毎晩酔いつぶれている。
He drinks himself into a stupor every night (falls over drunk).
転ぶ (korobu) is used for tripping or slipping and falling, typically for people and animals. 倒れる (taoreru) is used for falling from an upright position, often for objects or people collapsing. For a person tripping, use 転ぶ; for a person fainting or a tree falling, use 倒れる.
石につまずいて転んだ。
I tripped on a stone and fell over.
彼は疲れて倒れた。
He collapsed from exhaustion.
落ちる (ochiru) means 'to fall down' from a height, like falling off a cliff or dropping. It is not used for falling over from a standing position. Use 転ぶ or 倒れる instead.
To tip over or flip over, often implying a complete overturn.
椅子がひっくり返った。
The chair fell over (tipped over).