Meaning of 下
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- down
- downwards
- below
- lower
- later
- next (week etc)
- second (of two parts)
- to decline
How to use 下
下 marks position (below), movement (going down or getting off), and time (next or later). It often pairs with 上 as opposites, such as 下车 (xià chē) to get off a vehicle and 上车 (shàng chē) to get on. Example: 我们下次再去。(Wǒmen xià cì zài qù.) We will go next time.
Picture a horizontal line as the ground, with a stroke hanging down below it. Everything that points under the line is 下 (xià), down or below, the mirror image of 上 (shàng), up.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 下 and 上 because the shapes are mirror images. In 下, the short dot stroke is on the right of the vertical line, below the top bar. Also, 下星期 (xià xīngqī) means next week, not last week. Last week is 上星期 (shàng xīngqī).
下 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
下 xià · down · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 下.
| 坐下 | zuò xia | to sit down |
| 下次 | xià cì | next time |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon; p.m. |
| 下车 | xià chē | to get off or out of (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 楼下 | lóu xià | downstairs |
| 下班 | xiàbān | to finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc) |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 下课 | xiàkè | to finish class; to get out of class |
| 下边 | xiàbian | under; the underside |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 留下 | liúxia | to leave behind; to stay behind |
| 放下 | fàngxia | to lay down; to put down; to let go of; to relinquish; to set aside |
Questions about 下
What does 下 mean?
下 (xià) means "down; downwards" and is used as a noun, verb and measure word.
How do you write 下?
下 is made of 1 character: 下 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 下 an HSK word?
Yes. 下 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 下 sometimes pronounced without a tone, as in 坐下 (zuò xia)?
When 下 follows a verb to show downward direction or completion, it is often said in the neutral tone. So 坐下 sounds like zuò xia, and 放下 like fàng xia.
What does 一下 (yí xià) mean after a verb?
Placed after a verb, 一下 softens the action and means doing it briefly or just a little. For example, 等一下 (děng yí xià) means wait a moment, and 看一下 (kàn yí xià) means take a quick look.