倒す

• Reading: たおす
• Romaji: taosu
• Kanji breakdown: 倒 (tou) — topple, fall, collapse
• Pronunciation: /ta.o.sɯ/

Meaning

To knock down; to defeat; to overthrow. Causing something or someone to fall or be beaten.

A Group 1 (godan) transitive verb. Used physically (to knock over: コップを倒す), in competition (to defeat: 敵を倒す), and politically (to overthrow: 政権を倒す). The intransitive counterpart is 倒れる (to fall over). Very common in gaming and sports contexts as well as everyday situations.

Examples

1. 強い風で木が倒されていた。 Trees had been knocked down by the strong wind.
2. ゲームの最後のボスを倒すのに三時間かかった。 It took three hours to defeat the final boss in the game.
3. 子どもがテーブルの上のコップを倒してしまった。 The child accidentally knocked over the cup on the table.

Usage Guide

Context: games, sports, daily life

Tone: dynamic

Origin & History

From the kanji 倒 (tou, to fall/topple), which combines 亻(person radical) and 到 (to arrive/reach). The image of a person being brought down — reaching the ground.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal