How to say "tumble" in Japanese

• 転がるころがるJLPT N2approx.Common
  godan verb, intransitive verbCovers tumble as a rolling motion: a person or object turning over and over as it moves, such as tumbling down a slope. Its primary sense is simply 'to roll'.
  車輪しゃりんはゆっくり転ころがり始はじめた。↗

  The wheel began to roll slowly.
• 転落てんらくJLPT N1approx.Common
  noun, suru verb, intransitive verbTumble here means a fall: dropping or plunging downward, as in a tumble down stairs or from a height. It names the fall itself rather than rolling movement.

Choose 「転がる」 when tumble describes something rolling over and over as it moves; choose 転落 for a tumble that is really a fall, a downward plunge.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 転がるころがるto roll
• 転落てんらくfall
• 転げるころげるto roll over
• でんぐり返しでんぐりがえしsomersault
• ごろつくto roll (of something large and heavy)
• 転ぶころぶto roll