Let’s face it. Things are going to get dropped, intentionally or not. It’s important to know how to describe it using the transitive / intransitive verb pair 落とす / 落ちる (おとす / おちる), meaning to drop. Here are a few examples to illustrate their usage.
Vocabulary
| Kanji | Kana | English |
|---|---|---|
| 外 | そと | outside |
| ぬいぐるみ | stuffed animal | |
| コップ | cup | |
| 葉 | は | leaves |
| 紙 | かみ | paper |
| 机 | つくえ | desk |
| 彼 | かれ | he |
| 剃る | そる | to shave |
| ひげ | beard | |
| スピード | speed |
Examples
As always, note the use of を in the transitive case.
Transitive – 落とす (おとす)
外でぬいぐるみを落とした。 You dropped the stuffed animal outside.
コップを落とさないように気をつけて。Be careful not to drop the cup.
Intransitive – 落ちる (おちる)
葉が落ちた。The leaves fell.
紙が机から落ちました。A paper fell from the desk.
Other Uses
Note that in additional to the common use of 落とす / 落ちる to mean drop or lose, there are other uses you’ll encounter in different domains. For example:
彼はひげを剃り落とした。 He shaved off his beard.
スピードを落としよう。 Let’s slow down.