降临 jiànglín to descend
to descend; to arrive; to come
How to remember 降临: 降 to descend + 临 to approach = to descend.
Characters
How it is used
- (Of something significant) to descend / arrive - often night, disaster, fortune - 夜幕降临 (yèmù jiànglín) night falls; 灾难降临 disaster strikes.
- Literary and weighty; the subject is usually abstract or grand (幸福、危机、死亡), arriving as if from above.
- Read jiàng (not xiáng). More elevated than plain 来到 (to arrive).
Example sentences
- 夜幕降临时，孩子们回家了。 Yèmùjiànglín shí, háizi men huíjiā le.The children returned home at dusk.