Meaning of 下去
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to go down
- to descend
- to go on
- to continue
- (of a servant) to withdraw
How to use 下去
下去 can mean to physically go down, often away from the speaker, as in 你先下去吧 (nǐ xiān xiàqù ba, you go down first). After a verb it often means to keep doing something: 说下去 (shuō xiaqu, keep talking). In this complement use, it is usually read in the neutral tone.
下 (xià) means down and 去 (qù) means go away from the speaker, so 下去 is going down and away. Picture walking down a staircase that keeps going, which also gives the idea of continuing.
Common mistake: Learners mix up 下去 and 下来 (xiàlái). 去 means moving away from the speaker and 来 means moving toward the speaker. So if you are downstairs calling someone, say 下来, not 下去.
下去 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
去 qù · to go · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 下去.
| 出去 | chūqù | to go out |
| 回去 | huíqù | to return; to go back |
| 进去 | jìnqù | to go in |
| 坐下 | zuò xia | to sit down |
| 下次 | xià cì | next time |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon; p.m. |
| 去年 | qùnián | last year |
| 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 |
Questions about 下去
What does 下去 mean?
下去 (xiàqù) means "to go down; to descend".
How do you write 下去?
下去 is made of 2 characters: 下 (3 strokes), 去 (5 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 下去 an HSK word?
Yes. 下去 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I use 下去 to mean continue?
Put it right after the verb: 做下去 (zuò xiaqu, keep doing it) or 活下去 (huó xiaqu, go on living). It means continuing from now into the future. 下来 after a verb, as in 坚持下来, instead stresses carrying something through from the past to now.
Can I put an object between 下 and 去?
Yes, a place word goes between them: 下楼去 (xià lóu qù, go downstairs). With the continue meaning, you can also say 说不下去 (shuō bu xiàqù, cannot go on talking) to show inability.