(xià jiàng) - to descend, to fall, to decline in Mandarin
xiàjiàngTraditional: 下降
Translation
to descend, to fall, to decline
Word origin
A compound of 下 (xià, down) and 降 (jiàng, to descend or come down), doubling up the downward sense.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 下 (xià, down) + 降 (jiàng, to descend)
Stroke order
下
降
Examples
。
The temperature has started to fall.
。
The aeroplane is slowly descending.
销。
Sales have fallen a lot this year.
绩。
His marks have clearly declined.
。
Falling prices are good for us.
下降 (xià jiàng) is the fall of a measurable quantity or a physical descent. Temperatures, prices, sales figures, exam marks and aircraft all 下降. It is the standard word in news and reports, and it pairs with 上升 (to rise) as the other half of the set.
It is intransitive. The thing that falls is the subject: 气温下降了, the temperature fell. Degree words follow rather than precede it, so 下降了很多 or 下降了百分之十.
The trap is trying to make it transitive. You cannot 下降 something; to lower a figure deliberately, the verb is 降低 (jiàng dī), as in 降低价格. Also watch the reading of 降: here it is jiàng, to descend, but the same character is xiáng when it means to surrender, as in 投降. Two different words sharing one shape.
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下降: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "下降" (to descend, to fall, to decline): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 60.