墜落（ついらく、tsuiraku）
- crash

The Japanese word 墜落 (ついらく) primarily means "to crash," "to fall," or "to plummet." It generally refers to something, especially an aircraft, falling from a height and hitting the ground. The implication is often sudden and disastrous. It can also be used metaphorically to describe a sharp decline or failure.

⚫︎ 飛行機が墜落］した。 Translation: The airplane crashed. ⚫︎ 株価が墜落］した。 Translation: The stock prices crashed. ⚫︎ 崖から墜落］する。 Translation: To fall off a cliff.

You would use 墜落 when discussing the catastrophic fall of an aircraft, a sharp decline in something (like stock prices or a career), or the literal act of falling from a height. It's a relatively formal word and is used to describe serious events. It’s suitable for news reports, formal writing, or serious conversations.

The word is typically written in kanji as 墜落. The reading is ついらく in hiragana. There are no other standard ways to write this word. The okurigana (the hiragana suffix) is always included.

⚫︎ 落下 (rakka): "falling" (more general term) ⚫︎ 転落 (tenraku): "falling" or "decline" (can be used metaphorically) ⚫︎ 暴落 (bōraku): "crash" (specifically for prices) ⚫︎ 墜下 (tsuika): "to fall" (similar to 墜落 but less common)

⚫︎ 上昇 (jōshō): "rise" or "ascent" (opposite of a decline) ⚫︎ 離陸 (ririku): "takeoff" (opposite of an aircraft crashing)

その飛行機は山に墜落］し、全員が死亡した。 ・Translation: The airplane crashed into the mountain, and everyone died. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a tragic airplane crash.

会社の業績は近年、墜落］の一途を辿っている。 ・Translation: The company's performance has been on a downward spiral in recent years. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 墜落 metaphorically to describe a declining performance.

The kanji 墜 means "to fall" or "to drop," and the kanji 落 also means "to fall" or "to drop." Therefore, 墜落 combines two kanji that both imply falling, emphasizing the meaning of a significant and often destructive fall.