転ころぶ

also: まろぶ

こ

ろ

ぶ

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

godan verb (-bu), intransitive verb

fall down; fall over; trip

Describes a person or object losing balance and falling to the ground. Common in everyday situations.

雨あめの日ひは道みちが滑すべって転ころびやすい。
On rainy days, the roads are slippery and it's easy to fall.
子こ供ども

が

石いし

に

つまずい

て

転ころ

ん

だ

。

The child tripped on a stone and fell.

godan verb (-bu), intransitive verb

turn out; end up; play out

Only with reading ころぶ

Used in the set phrase どう転んでも (no matter how things turn out) to express that the outcome is certain or inevitable. Limited to this pattern.

どう転ころんでも、この試し合あいはうちのチームが勝かつだろう。
No matter how it plays out, our team will probably win this match.

godan verb (-bu), intransitive verb

abandon Christianity; apostatize

Only with reading ころぶ

Historical term from early Japanese Christianity, referring to the act of renouncing the faith, often under persecution, and sometimes converting to Buddhism.

江え戸ど時じ代だい初しょ期き、多おおくのキリシタンが転ころぶことを強しいられた。
In the early Edo period, many Christians were forced to apostatize.

godan verb (-bu), intransitive verb

roll; tumble

Describes rolling or tumbling movement, similar to 転がる. Often used for objects or people rolling over.

Written forms

転ぶUsage86%
- ころぶ
  Standard kanji spelling for the common reading ころぶ.
- まろぶ
  Archaic reading; rarely used in modern Japanese.
ころぶUsage12%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended meaning is clear from context.
まろぶUsage3%

Kanji

転revolve, turn around, change

Similar words

転ころがる
転がる focuses on rolling or lying down, while 転ぶ emphasizes falling or tumbling over.
倒たおれる
倒れる means to fall over from an upright position, often for larger objects or people, and can imply collapse. 転ぶ is more about tripping or rolling.

Etymology

The reading ころぶ is of native Japanese origin, likely related to the mimetic root ころ (rolling). The kanji 転 means 'revolve' or 'turn around', fitting the core meanings of falling and rolling. The archaic reading まろぶ is a variant. The Christian apostasy sense is a semantic extension from 'falling away' from the faith.