下降 xiàjiàng to decline
to decline; to drop; to fall; to go down; to decrease
How to remember 下降: 下 down + 降 to descend = to decline.
Characters
How it is used
- 下降 (xiàjiàng) is a formal, written-register verb for a quantity or level dropping - temperature, prices, rates, altitude - e.g. 气温下降了 (qìwēn xiàjiàng le) - the temperature has dropped.
- It contrasts with 下 alone or 掉下来 (diào xiàlái), which describe a physical object falling; 下降 is used for statistics and abstract measures, not a person tripping.
- Near-synonym 降低 (jiàngdī) is often transitive (someone lowers something: 降低价格), while 下降 is intransitive, describing something dropping on its own.
- Common in news and reports: 销量下降了百分之十 (xiāoliàng xiàjiàng le bǎi fēnzhī shí) - sales dropped by 10 percent.
Example sentences
- 电梯在下降。 Diàntī zài xiàjiàng.The elevator is going down.
- 气温突然下降了。 Qìwēn tūrán xiàjiàng le.The temperature has suddenly dropped.
- 我的视力正慢慢下降。 Wǒ de shìlì zhèng mànmàn xiàjiàng.My eyesight is getting worse.