POTTO-RI ぽっとり
Meanings
Describes a drop of liquid or another small thing falling gently as a single drop or small mass.
Examples
A drop of dew fell softly from the leaf.
葉っぱから、露がぽっとりと落ちた。
Dogmatic Opinion
One dictionary I found gave only a meaning along the lines of “having a thick, soft quality.” My reaction was basically: “Huh. I didn’t know that.”
My own image is more like liquid falling from a dropper in a science experiment.
Or, less elegantly, a small bird dropping a tiny piece of poop while flying.
In either case, one small thing separates and falls.
Proximate Expression
drip
plink
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
A drop fell, fall in a drop, drop softly, and plop may fit depending on what falls. The Japanese source here centers on the falling-drop sense, so roundness, thickness, or heaviness should not be treated as required meanings.
