後うしろざまに倒たおれる

Meanings

1

expression, ichidan verb

fall backward

Describes a person or thing falling over backwards, often with a sense of toppling or collapsing rearward.

彼かれはバランスを崩くずして後うしろざまに倒たおれた。
He lost his balance and fell backward.
強つよい風かぜで自じ転てん車しゃが後うしろざまに倒たおれた。
The bicycle fell backward in the strong wind.

Written forms

後うしろざまに倒たおれる
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
後うしろ様ざまに倒たおれる
Rare spelling using 様 for ざま; less common in modern writing.

Kanji

後behind, back, later
倒overthrow, fall, collapse
様Esq., way, manner

Similar words

仰あお向むけに倒たおれる
Means 'to fall on one's back' with emphasis on ending up face-up; 後ろざまに倒れる focuses on the direction of the fall itself.
後うしろに倒たおれる
A simpler, more general phrase for 'fall backward'; 後ろざまに倒れる adds a nuance of manner or style of falling.

Etymology

Compound of 後ろ (ushiro, 'back') + ざま (zama, 'direction/manner') + に (ni, adverbial particle) + 倒れる (taoreru, 'to fall'). The ざま element derives from 様 (sama), indicating the direction or way of falling.