転てん落らく

て

ん

ら

く

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

fall; tumble; plunge

Physical falling from a height, such as off a cliff, stairs, or a platform. Often used in accident reports.

駅えきのホームから転てん落らくする事じ故こがあった。
There was an accident where someone fell from the station platform.
登

と

山ざん

中ちゅう

に

崖がけ

から

転てん

落らく

し

、

大おお

けが

を

負お

っ

た

。

He fell off a cliff while climbing and was seriously injured.

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

downfall; decline; demotion

Metaphorical fall in social standing, rank, reputation, or moral state. Often used with words like 人生, 地位, or 転落人生.

不ふ正せいが発はっ覚かくして、彼かれは社しゃ長ちょうの座ざから転てん落らくした。
After the misconduct came to light, he fell from the position of company president.
ギャンブルにのめり込こんで、転てん落らくの人じん生せいを歩あゆんだ。
He got addicted to gambling and led a life of decline.

Written forms

転てん落らくUsage100%
Standard kanji spelling for both physical falling and decline in status.
顛てん落らく
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 転落 is overwhelmingly preferred.

Kanji

転revolve, turn around, change
落fall, drop, come down
顛overturn, summit, origin

Similar words

落らっ下か
落下 is a general word for dropping or falling, often used for objects. 転落 implies tumbling or falling from a higher place, often with a sense of rolling or slipping, and is commonly used for people.
没ぼつ落らく
没落 refers to ruin or downfall, especially of a family, business, or social class, and is more about long-term decline. 転落 can be a sudden fall from a position or grace.

Etymology

Compound of 転 (turn, revolve, change) and 落 (fall, drop). The combination conveys the idea of tumbling or falling down, both physically and metaphorically.