godan verb (-su), transitive verb
drop; let fall; lose; cast downward
Core physical use: something is made to fall or is accidentally dropped or lost. Also used with 視線, 光, and small amounts of liquid, as in lowering one's gaze or dropping liquid into something.
駅で財布を落としてしまった。
I dropped and lost my wallet at the station.
彼
She silently lowered her gaze.
コーヒーにミルクを一滴落とした。
I dropped a bit of milk into the coffee.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
Used for removing makeup, dirt, stains, paint, facial hair, or for omitting an item from a list, text, or selection.
帰ったらすぐ化粧を落とす。
I remove my makeup as soon as I get home.
この洗剤なら油汚れも落とせる。
This detergent can remove even grease stains.
名簿から彼の名前を落とした。
They left his name off the list.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
spend money; lose money
With お金 or a money amount, often means to spend money at a place, especially as customers or tourists; in gambling-like contexts it can mean to lose money.
観光客が地元の店でお金を落としてくれる。
Tourists spend money at local shops.
競馬で大金を落とした。
He lost a large sum of money on horse racing.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
secretly let escape
A limited and uncommon use meaning to let a prisoner or similar person escape secretly. It is not the normal modern verb for 'let escape,' which is usually 逃がす.
古い用法では、「罪人を落とす」が罪人をひそかに逃がす意味になることがある。
In older usage, 罪人を落とす can mean to secretly let a criminal escape.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
lose a match; drop a game
Used when a team or player loses a match, game, set, or other contest that they had been playing.
大事な試合を落として、チームは首位から下がった。
The team lost an important match and fell from first place.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
reject; fail someone; defeat in an election
Transitive use from the viewpoint of a judge, school, employer, voters, or similar authority: to make someone fail, reject an applicant, or remove a candidate by defeating them.
面接で何人かの応募者を落とした。
They rejected several applicants at the interview stage.
教授は出席不足の学生を落とした。
The professor failed the students who lacked attendance.
選挙で現職を落とすのは簡単ではない。
It is not easy to defeat an incumbent in an election.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
lower; reduce; degrade; fall on hard times
Used for lowering a voice or shoulders, reducing weight or output, worsening quality or reputation, and in 身を落とす for sinking into reduced circumstances or a degraded position.
少し声を落として話した。
He lowered his voice a little as he spoke.
品質を落とさずにコストを下げたい。
We want to lower costs without reducing quality.
彼は借金で身を落とした。
He fell on hard times because of debt.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
put down; speak badly of; make light of
Used for lowering someone in others' estimation: disparaging them, belittling them, or making them look worse.
他人を落として自分をよく見せるのはやめなさい。
Stop putting others down to make yourself look good.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
capture; take; win at auction; force surrender
Used for taking a castle, stronghold, or target by overcoming resistance, and for successfully winning an item with a bid at auction.
その軍は三日で城を落とした。
The army took the castle in three days.
オークションで古い時計を落とした。
I won an old watch at auction.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
break down; force a confession; convince forcefully
Used when pressure, questioning, negotiation, or persuasion finally makes someone yield, confess, or accept a position. This overlaps with colloquial 'win over' uses but is often stronger.
刑事は粘り強い取り調べで容疑者を落とした。
The detective wore the suspect down into confessing through persistent questioning.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
put into a bad state; bring into sin or difficulty
Less common or literary-feeling use for making someone or something fall into a dilemma, sin, or other bad state. Modern Japanese often uses 陥れる or 陥らせる for this idea.
軽率な判断が会社を窮地に落とした。
A careless decision put the company in a difficult position.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
download; copy to another medium
Computing use: to download data or copy it down from a computer or network to another device or storage medium.
資料をパソコンに落としてから読む。
I download the materials to my computer before reading them.
スマホにアプリを落とした。
I downloaded the app to my phone.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
make someone pass out
Martial arts use, especially in judo contexts, for making an opponent lose consciousness, commonly with a choke or similar technique.
柔道では締め技で相手を落とすことがある。
In judo, a chokehold can make an opponent pass out.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
end a story with a punch line; bring a story to its payoff
Used with 話 and similar words when finishing a joke, anecdote, rakugo-like story, or comic setup with an おち or punch line.
彼は最後にくだらないダジャレで話を落とした。
He ended the story with a silly pun.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
end a period of fasting or abstinence
Traditional or fixed-expression use, as in 精進を落とす, meaning to end a period of fasting, abstinence, or ritual restraint.
法要の後、親族で精進を落とした。
After the memorial service, the relatives ended the period of abstinence with a meal.
godan verb (-su), transitive verb
win over; seduce; overcome someone's resistance
Colloquial use for getting someone to give in emotionally or socially, including romantic or sexual seduction. It can sound calculating or rough depending on context.
彼は甘い言葉で彼女を落とそうとした。
He tried to win her over with sweet words.
何度も交渉して、ようやく担当者を落とした。
After repeated negotiations, we finally won over the person in charge.