落おちこぼれ

お

ち

こ

ぼ

れ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun

fallen scraps; leftovers; odds and ends

Literally things that have fallen or been left behind; used for physical scraps, remnants, or the small, leftover bits of something. Sense 2 (leftovers, remainder) is a natural extension of the literal meaning.

机つくえの下したにパンくずの落おちこぼれがあった。
There were fallen bread crumbs under the desk.
市いち場ばが

閉し

まっ

た

後あと

、

野や

菜さい

の

落お

ちこぼれ

を

拾ひろ

う

人ひと

が

いる

。

After the market closes, some people pick up leftover vegetables.

2

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

dropout; student who falls behind

colloquialsensitive

Colloquial and sensitive term for a student who cannot keep up academically or socially, or a person who drops out of a group or movement. Often used in educational contexts. Can also be used as a no-adjective (e.g., 落ちこぼれの生徒).

Written forms

落おちこぼれUsage96%
Standard spelling; the kanji 落ち零れ is also seen but less common.
おちこぼれUsage4%
落おち零こぼれ
Alternate kanji form using 零; less frequent than 落ちこぼれ.

Kanji

落fall, drop, come down
零zero, spill, overflow

Similar words

浮うきこぼれ
Refers to a student who is ahead of the class and becomes bored or disengaged, the opposite problem of 落ちこぼれ.
ドロップアウト
A loanword from English 'dropout', used more broadly for dropping out of society or a system, while 落ちこぼれ often implies falling behind within a group.

Etymology

Compound of the verb 落ちる (to fall) in its continuative form 落ち and こぼれ, the continuative form of こぼれる (to spill, to scatter). Literally 'fallen and scattered bits', later extended metaphorically to people who 'fall through the cracks'.