落ちる · ichidan verb
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 落ちる | 落ちない |
| Polite | 落ちます | 落ちません |
| Past polite | 落ちました | 落ちませんでした |
| Past | 落ちた | 落ちなかった |
| Te-form | 落ちて | 落ちないで |
| Desire | 落ちたい | 落ちたくない |
| Potential | 落ちられるalso 落ちれる | 落ちられないalso 落ちれない |
| Passive | 落ちられる | 落ちられない |
| Causative | 落ちさせる | 落ちさせない |
| Causative passive | 落ちさせられる | 落ちさせられない |
| Volitional | 落ちよう | |
| Polite volitional | 落ちましょう | |
| Imperative | 落ちろ | 落ちるな |
| Conditional | 落ちれば | 落ちなければ |
| Tara conditional | 落ちたら | 落ちなかったら |
Basic intransitive use for something moving downward, falling off, collapsing, giving way, or crashing. Use に or から for this word/destination context, not を as a direct object.
A book fell from the shelf.
The old bridge collapsed in the heavy rain.
A small plane crashed in the mountains.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Used of the sun, moon, or similar celestial bodies going below the horizon; 日が落ちる is a very common phrase for evening falling.
Let's go home before the sun sets.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
decrease; drop; decline; deteriorate
Used when a level, number, speed, quality, popularity, sales, or force becomes lower; also used for wind dying down.
Sales dropped a little after the new product came out.
If you stop practicing, your stamina quickly declines.
The wind died down in the evening.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be inferior to; fall short of; not be as good as
Usually compares one thing with another using に落ちる, meaning it is lower in quality, ability, taste, or rank.
The taste is a little inferior to the main shop's.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
come off; come out; fade; be removed
Used of dirt, stains, paint, makeup, color, and similar things being removed or fading. Also lists removal of an illness or possessing spirit, which is more context-dependent.
With this detergent, grease stains come off well.
The shirt's color faded a little because I washed it many times.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
lose fat; become leaner; become thinner
Used especially for unwanted fat disappearing through exercise, dieting, or exertion; 脂肪が落ちる is a common collocation.
After running every day, the fat around my stomach started to come off.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
be omitted; be missing; be left out
Used when something that should be included is missing from a list, text, plan, or set.
His name is missing from the roster.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Common with exams, auditions, selections, elections, and competitions: 試験に落ちる, 選挙に落ちる.
I failed to get into my first-choice university.
He lost in the last election.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
decline morally; stoop; be ruined; fall into hell
A figurative downward fall in morals, character, social standing, or fate. 堕ちる is often used in writing for a darker sense such as moral corruption or falling into hell.
I don't want to sink that low for money.
It is taught that evil people fall into hell.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
fall into a state; fall in love; fall asleep
Used with に for entering a state, especially in fixed-feeling phrases such as 恋に落ちる and 眠りに落ちる.
The two fell in love while traveling.
I fell asleep while reading a book.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
fall into someone's hands; be won in bidding; be honored
Used for possession or control passing to someone, and in bidding or finance contexts. Business uses such as 物件がA社に落ちる and 手形が落ちる are more specialized than the everyday physical sense.
As a result of the auction, the property went to Company A.
The bill was duly honored on its due date.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
fall into a trap; fall for a trick
Often appears with 罠, 策略, or 誘惑; はまる is also very common, but 落ちる keeps the image of being drawn downward into the trap.
He fell into the enemy's trap.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Colloquial use for someone's resistance breaking, especially after persuasion or questioning. In interrogation-like contexts, 容疑者が落ちる means the suspect confesses.
After we asked him again and again, my father finally gave in.
The suspect confessed during questioning.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Used for a discussion, conclusion, topic, or outcome finally landing at a certain point; this is more abstract and somewhat less basic than 落ち着く.
The final conclusion settled on a compromise plan.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
flee a place; fall to the enemy; be defeated
Historical or military-flavored use. A person or army may 落ちる from a city or castle by fleeing after defeat, while a castle or position may 落ちる by being captured.
The defeated clan fled the capital.
The castle fell to the enemy in a single night.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
sink in; be accepted inwardly
Used for something becoming emotionally or intellectually acceptable, especially in idioms such as 腑に落ちない, meaning 'does not make sense' or 'does not sit right.'
That explanation somehow doesn't sit right with me.
The teacher's words sank into my heart.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
money comes in; money is spent locally
Used of money flowing into a person, place, business, or local economy. A common pattern is 町にお金が落ちる, meaning money is spent there.
During the festival, quite a lot of money comes into the town.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
fall on; be cast on
Used of light, shadow, a gaze, and similar things coming to rest on a surface or object.
Light coming through the window is falling on the floor.
Her gaze fell on the old photograph.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
pass out; fall unconscious
Used especially in martial arts or combat-sports contexts when someone loses consciousness, often from a chokehold; also usable more generally for blacking out.
The opponent passed out from the chokehold.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Computing use for a website, server, app, or system becoming unavailable or stopping unexpectedly.
The company server went down last night.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
log out; go offline; leave
Online slang for leaving a chat, game, call, or online space. Often said casually as そろそろ落ちる or 今日は落ちる.
Sorry, I'm sleepy, so I'm going to log off for today.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
move to deeper water
Fishing or nature-related use for fish moving down into deeper water, especially in cold weather.
When the water temperature drops, fish move into deeper water.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Rare or specialized use for an animal dying. It is not the normal everyday verb for a pet dying; 死ぬ or 亡くなる is more general depending on context.
In livestock contexts, 子牛が落ちる can refer to a calf dying.
The book fell off the desk.
I went home before the sun set.
Sales have been dropping lately.
The stain on this shirt won't come out easily.
He failed the entrance exam.
The server crashed due to a surge in traffic.
We fell into the enemy's trap.
失敗する is the general verb for 'to fail' at any task, while 落ちる's failure sense is narrower, used mainly for exams, auditions, and elections.
落ちる is the common, everyday verb for falling (and can also mean to fail an exam), while 落下 is a more formal, noun-based term for something dropping from a height.
落ちる is the everyday word for falling, whether literal or figurative, while 陥る is more formal and specifically used for sinking into negative states, traps, or defeat.
落ちる simply means 'to fall' in a general sense, while 散る specifically implies scattering while falling, as with petals or leaves.
落ちる means 'to fall' downward in a straight or vertical sense, while 転がる emphasizes rolling or tumbling along a surface.
落ちる is the standard, neutral verb for failing an exam, while 滑る is a more colloquial slang term used mostly by students.
落ちる means to fall or drop down, the opposite motion of 飛び上がる's sudden upward jump or rise.
落ちる means to fall or drop, often quickly, while 垂れる (sense 3) describes liquid dripping or oozing down slowly.
feel down; be depressed; be in low spirits · be in a slump; be in an unfavourable condition · fall into (a hole, etc.)
decline; drop; fall; downturn · depression; low spirits; feeling down
mistake; error; fault; oversight
fall into decline; come down in the world; be ruined
elopement; running away with a lover
calm down; settle down; compose
fallen leaves; leaf litter · leaf fall; defoliation · deciduous
crumble down; tumble down; fall in
sharp drop; plunge; nosedive
decline; on the wane; downward trend
in peace; without worry; comfortably
discouraged; dispirited; despondent
flow down; run down; run off
tumble down; fall off
fleeing warrior; deserter
one-sided; partial; unfair
meet up; rendezvous; get together · join; flow together; converge
spill and fall; scatter down
come out; fall out; collapse · be left out; be omitted
slip off; slide down and fall
leaving the capital; fleeing the capital
scraped meat from the spine of a fish or beef
fallen scraps; leftovers; odds and ends
oversight; omission; mistake
ex-interest; without accrued interest
old model; outdated model; becoming outdated · drop (metal casting defect)
falling asleep while doing something; dozing off mid-activity
This spelling for moral decline, ruin, or falling into hell; it has a darker written nuance than 落ちる.