こける

こ

け

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

fall over; fall down; collapse

usually written using kana alone

General intransitive verb for falling over, tumbling, or collapsing. Often used for people, objects, or structures losing balance and falling.

階かい段だんでこけて、膝ひざをすりむいた。
I fell down the stairs and scraped my knee.

花か瓶びんが棚たなからこけて割われた。

The vase fell off the shelf and broke.

2

ichidan verb, intransitive verb

flop; fail; bomb

usually written using kana alone

Colloquial use for a play, movie, product, or plan failing badly. Often used in entertainment or business contexts.

あの映えい画がはこけて、すぐに上じょう映えいが終おわった。
That movie flopped and was pulled from theaters quickly.
新しん商しょう品ひんがこけて、会かい社しゃは大おお損ぞんした。
The new product bombed and the company took a huge loss.

Written forms

こけるUsage93%
Usually written in kana. The kanji spellings 転ける and 倒ける are rare.
転こけるUsage6%
Rare kanji spelling. The kana form こける is strongly preferred.
倒こけるUsage1%
out-dated kanji form
Out-dated kanji usage; not recommended for modern writing.

Kanji

転revolve, turn around, change
倒overthrow, fall, collapse

Similar words

転ころぶ
転ぶ also means 'to fall down', but is more common for tripping or tumbling while walking. こける is more casual and often used in Kansai dialect, though widely understood.
倒たおれる
倒れる means 'to fall over' or 'to collapse', but often implies a heavier or more dramatic fall, such as a person fainting or a building collapsing. こける is lighter and more colloquial.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. It may be related to the mimetic word ころころ (rolling) or a dialectal variant of 転ぶ (ころぶ). The kanji 転 and 倒 are assigned for their meanings, but the word itself is native Japanese.