落ちる

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 葉が落ちる。▶ —
   Leaves fall.
2. 試験に落ちた。▶ —
   I failed the exam.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Ochiru (落ちる) is the ichidan intransitive verb for "to fall / drop / fail" — paired with the transitive otosu (落とす, already covered). Transitivity pair: mono ga ochiru (thing falls) vs hito ga mono wo otosu (person drops thing). Multi-sense cluster: (1) physical fall — ha ga ochiru (leaves fall), ame ga ochiru (rain falls); (2) failing an exam — shiken ni ochiru (fail the test); (3) reputation drop — hyouban ga ochiru (reputation falls), ninki ga ochiru (popularity drops); (4) figurative "spirit falls" — ki ga ochiru (lose heart) = kiochi (dejection). The 落 kanji family is strong: ochiba (fallen leaves), rakka (descent), rakuyouju (deciduous tree), rakugaki (graffiti), rakutan (disappointment), botsuraku (downfall), daraku (degeneracy), rakugo (落語, Japanese one-person comic storytelling). Rakugo cultural code: developed since the Edo 17th century, the genre is built around ochi (落ち, the punch-line drop), hence 落 plus 語 = "stories that drop to a punchline." About 700 rakugo-ka (storytellers) practice today, and NHK broadcasts a Nihon no Wagei weekly slot. Korean mandam and Chinese xiangsheng are analogous comic forms. JLPT N5 ochiru integrates with otosu, the transitivity pair, and the 落 kanji cluster.

Quick check

1. Etymology of Japans rakugo genre?

   • Ochi (落ち, punch-line drop) plus 語 (storytelling form) — "stories that drop to a punch-line"
   • Rite of "fallen" significance
   • Edo samurai morality
   • Meiji coinage