おちる (落ちる): One Verb, Many Meanings (with Examples)
Why one verb has so many meanings
The first translation everyone learns is "to fall." But then おちる shows up meaning fail an exam, get lower, come out — and it can feel like four unrelated words. There's a single thread, though: something goes down by itself, without anyone holding or pushing it.
A wallet drops to the ground. Leaves come down off a tree. Your grade goes down. Your name drops off the pass list (you failed). A stain comes off the shirt. Every one of these is "something descends / comes away on its own." Hold that image and the list below stops being vocabulary to memorize and starts being one idea in different clothes.
One structural note before the meanings: おちる is the intransitive verb — it happens by itself, with the thing as the subject (が). It has a transitive twin, おとす (落とす), which is you doing it to something (を). We'll compare them at the end — it's a classic JLPT trap.
The meanings, most common first
1. To fall / drop (落ちる)
ヤッタンの財布が落ちた。
ヤッタンの さいふが おちた。
Yattan's wallet fell (dropped).
The wallet is the subject and takes が — it fell on its own. To say someone dropped it, use 落とす.
2. To come down / fall (of nature) (落ちる)
秋になると木の葉が落ちる。
あきに なると このはが おちる。
When autumn comes, the leaves fall.
3. To fail (an exam or selection) (試験に落ちる)
ヤッタンは試験に落ちて、がっかりした。
ヤッタンは しけんに おちて、がっかりした。
Yattan failed the exam and was disappointed.
試験に落ちる = to fail an exam (the opposite is 受かる, to pass). Use に, not を, for the exam.
4. To decline / drop (成績・人気が落ちる)
ゲームのしすぎで弟の成績が落ちた。
ゲームの しすぎで おとうとの せいせきが おちた。
Yattan's little brother's grades dropped from too much gaming.
Used for grades, popularity, sales, quality — anything that goes down in level or value.
5. To come off / come out (a stain) (汚れが落ちる)
この洗剤を使うと汚れがよく落ちる。
この せんざいを つかうと よごれが よく おちる。
Stains come out well when you use this detergent.
A stain coming off is also 'something leaving on its own' — same core image.
6. To fall (into a state) — to fall asleep (眠りに落ちる)
モチは疲れていて、すぐに眠りに落ちた。
モチは つかれていて、すぐに ねむりに おちた。
Mochi was tired and fell asleep right away.
N3-ish. 眠りに落ちる = to fall asleep; 恋に落ちる = to fall in love — the same 'fall into' pattern.
And it keeps going from the same "drops / comes down on its own" image: 日が落ちる (the sun goes down), 雷が落ちる (lightning strikes / falls), 元気が落ちる (energy drops). Once the core image clicks, most of these feel intuitive rather than like new words.
Common collocations worth memorizing
Some おちる phrases come up constantly. Learn them as chunks and they'll feel automatic:
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 試験に落ちる | to fail an exam |
| 成績が落ちる | grades drop |
| 人気が落ちる | popularity declines |
| 汚れが落ちる | a stain comes out |
| 財布が落ちる | a wallet falls / drops |
| 日が落ちる | the sun goes down |
| 眠りに落ちる | to fall asleep |
Kanji & related verbs
The everyday kanji is 落 ("to fall / drop"), and it writes nearly every meaning of おちる above. The verb to keep right next to it is its transitive partner:
- 落とす (おとす) — the transitive twin: to drop, lose, or lower something (covered below).
- 落ちる (おちる) — the intransitive one you're learning here: something falls by itself.
Both use the same 落 kanji — the kana ending tells you which is which (-ちる = it falls; -とす = you drop it). Note that 落ちる is a Group 2 ru-verb, while 落とす is a Group 1 う-verb — they conjugate differently, so it's worth keeping the pair straight from the start.
落ちる vs 落とす — the trap
These two are a transitive/intransitive pair, and the JLPT loves testing them. The difference is who's doing it — and they even belong to different verb groups:
| Form | Core idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 落ちる (おちる, intransitive, Group 2) | Something falls / drops on its own — the thing is the subject (が) | 財布が落ちた = the wallet fell |
| 落とす (おとす, transitive, Group 1) | Someone drops / loses / lowers it — takes an object (を) | 財布を落とした = (I) dropped / lost my wallet |
落とす itself covers a family of "make it go down" meanings, all matching 落ちる on the other side:
- to drop / let fall: コップを落とす = to drop a cup.
- to lose (by dropping): 鍵を落とす = to lose your keys.
- to lower / reduce: スピードを落とす = to slow down; 成績を落とす = to let your grades slip; 声を落とす = to lower your voice.
- to remove (clean off): 汚れを落とす = to get a stain out; 化粧を落とす = to take off makeup.
A neat way to feel it: with 落とす you can point to the person doing it (someone dropped it); with 落ちる you're just describing what happened to the thing (it fell). 汚れを落とす = "I remove the stain"; 汚れが落ちる = "the stain comes out."
Quick recap
- One image powers them all: something drops or comes down on its own.
- High-value chunks: 試験に落ちる, 成績が落ちる, 汚れが落ちる, 日が落ちる.
- 落ちる is intransitive (a Group 2 ru-verb, が); its partner 落とす is transitive (a Group 1 う-verb, を).
- 落とす means drop, lose, lower, and remove — the "make it go down" side of the same coin.
Your turn
Ready to test your N5 vocabulary in context?
Start the 5-question drill →Frequently asked questions
Is 落ちる a ru-verb or u-verb?
落ちる (おちる) is a Group 2 (ru-verb / ichidan) verb: おち-る → おち-ます, おち-て, おち-ない. It conjugates just like 食べる. Be careful: its transitive partner 落とす (おとす) is a Group 1 (u-verb), so they conjugate differently.
What is the difference between 落ちる and 落とす?
落ちる is intransitive — something falls on its own and is the subject (財布が落ちた = the wallet fell). 落とす is transitive — someone drops, loses, or lowers something and it takes an object (財布を落とした = I dropped/lost my wallet).
How do I say 'I failed the exam' in Japanese?
Use 試験に落ちる: 試験に落ちた = (I) failed the exam. Note the particle is に, not を. The opposite — to pass — is 試験に受かる or 試験に合格する.
Does 落ちる really mean a stain coming out?
Yes. 汚れが落ちる = the stain comes out / comes off. It fits the core image — the stain leaves on its own. To actively remove it, use the transitive 汚れを落とす.