転倒(てんとう)

てんとう
noun, suru verb
falling over; toppling; reversal
1. falling over; toppling
Losing one's balance and falling down, or an object tipping over. Common in medical and safety contexts.
階段(かいだん)で転倒(てんとう)した。
I fell on the stairs.
高齢者(こうれいしゃ)の転倒(てんとう)事故(じこ)が増(ふ)えている。
Fall-related accidents among the elderly are increasing.
地震(じしん)で本棚(ほんだな)が転倒(てんとう)して、部屋中(へやじゅう)に本(ほん)が散(ち)らばった。
The bookshelf toppled over in the earthquake and books scattered all over the room.
2. reversal; inversion
The order or priority of things being reversed or mixed up.
本末転倒(ほんまつてんとう)だ。
That's putting the cart before the horse.
優先順位(ゆうせんじゅんい)が転倒(てんとう)している。
The priorities are reversed.
手段(しゅだん)と目的(もくてき)が転倒(てんとう)してしまい、何(なん)のためにやっているのか分(わ)からなくなった。
The means and the ends got reversed, and I lost sight of why I was doing it.

Sense 1 is used frequently in medical and safety contexts, especially regarding elderly falls. Sense 2 appears most often in the four-character compound 本末転倒(ほんまつてんとう) (putting the cart before the horse).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 転倒(てんとう)事故(じこ) (fall accident)
  • 転倒(てんとう)防止(ぼうし) (fall prevention)
  • 転倒(てんとう)する (to fall over, to topple)
  • 本末転倒(ほんまつてんとう) (getting priorities backwards)

Not to be confused with 店頭(てんとう) (storefront), which is a homophone.

general
Added 2026.2.28 19:56
14000/14303_tentou