のめる

to fall
飲める
to drink much
to be good to drink

* * *

I

のめる【飲める】

1 〔飲むのにふさわしい品質･味だ〕 《be》 good to drink; 《be》 drinkable.

●飲めない undrinkable; not drinkable; not for drinking.

●その水は飲めますか. Is that drinking water [water drinkable]? | Is that water all right [safe] to drink?

・噴水の水は飲めません. 〔掲示〕 The fountain water is not for drinking [drinkable].

・この酒は値段の割には飲める. Considering the price this sake is quite drinkable.

・この葉巻きはのめない. This cigar is unsmokable [too nasty to smoke].

・味噌汁がしょっぱくて飲めない. This misoshiru [miso soup] is too salty to eat [drink]. | The misoshiru [miso soup] is so salty (that) it is completely inedible.

2 〔酒などに対して身体が強い〕 be able to take alcohol; be capable of drink; be able to take [hold] one's drink.

●飲める口 (something of) a drinker

・飲めない be not a drinker; be unable to drink; cannot cope with alcohol.

●「君は飲めるかね」「少しね」 “Do you drink?”―“A bit.” | “Can you take alcohol?”―“As long as it's not too much.”

・彼はなかなか飲めそうだ. I gather he's quite a drinker.

・君はけっこう飲めそうに見えるけど, 意外に弱いんだね. You look like quite a drinker, but you're not really, are you? | You are not as much of a drinker as you look, are you?

・彼女は飲めないのに無理に飲んでさみしさを紛らそうとした. She can't cope with alcohol [hold her drink], but she forced herself to drink to drown her sorrows [to forget her loneliness].

・私は飲めなかったがだんだん飲めるようになった. I used to be unable to drink [hold my drink], but I've gradually got used to it.

3 〔飲んでもいい状況だ〕

●今夜は大いに飲めるぞ. We'll be able to have a really good drink [drinking session] tonight. | We'll be able to get really drunk [《口》 plastered, pissed] tonight.

・〔仕事が一段落して〕 これでやっとお茶が飲める. At last we can have some tea [something to drink, a drink].

II

のめる

〔前へ倒れる〕 fall [tumble, pitch] forward; fall on one's face; (つまずいて) stumble 《over…》; trip 《over a toy》; 〔前へ傾く〕 lean [bend] forward.

●危うくのめりそうになって母の手にしがみついた. I barely kept myself from stumbling forward by grabbing (on to) my mother's hand.

●彼はつまずいて前にのめった. He tripped and fell (forward [on his face]).

・人込みの中で後ろから押されて思わずのめってしまった. I was pushed forward in the crowd and found myself falling down [to the ground].