降 meaning in English

jiàng

to drop; to fall

HSK 4verb8 strokes

Meaning of 降

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

jiàng

to drop
to fall
to come down
to descend

xiáng

to surrender; to capitulate
to subdue; to conquer; to tame

How to use 降

降 (jiàng) usually means something goes down: planes land, prices drop, temperatures fall. It often appears in compounds like 降落 (jiàngluò), 降低 (jiàngdī) and 降价 (jiàngjià). Example: 明天要降温了。(Míngtiān yào jiàngwēn le.) It will get colder tomorrow.

The left side 阝 looks like a hillside, and the right side shows feet stepping. Picture someone walking down a hill, and you get 降 (jiàng), to come down.

Common mistake: Learners often read every 降 as jiàng, but in 投降 (tóuxiáng, to surrender) it is pronounced xiáng with a second tone. Also, do not confuse 降 with 隆 (lóng, grand), which has an extra 生-like part at the bottom right.

降 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

气qì压yā计jì下xià降jiàng了le - 要yào下xià雨yǔ了le。

The barometer is falling. It is going to rain.

时shí光guāng流liú转zhuǎn，死sǐ亡wáng突tū降jiàng。

Time turns, death strikes.

最zuì近jìn物wù价jià已yǐ经jīng下xià降jiàng。

Prices have dropped recently.

大dà雪xuě降jiàng低dī了le能néng见jiàn度dù。

The snow was reducing visibility.

飞fēi机jī就jiù要yào降jiàng落luò了le。

The plane is about to land.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

降 jiàng · to drop · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 降.

降落	jiàngluò	to descend; to land
下降	xiàjiàng	to decline; to drop
降低	jiàngdī	to reduce; to lower; to bring down
降温	jiàngwēn	to become cooler; to lower the temperature
降价	jiàngjià	to cut the price; to drive down the price
投降	tóuxiáng	to surrender
降临	jiànglín	to descend; to arrive
降落伞	jiàngluòsǎn	parachute
从天而降	cóngtiān'érjiàng	(idiom) to fall from the sky; (idiom) (fig.) to appear unexpectedly; to drop into one's la
降下	jiàngxià	to fall; to drop
降生	jiàngshēng	to be born; arrival of newborn
迫降	pòjiàng	to force a plane to land

Questions about 降

What does 降 mean?

降 (jiàng) means "to drop; to fall" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 降?

降 is made of 1 character: 降 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.

Is 降 an HSK word?

Yes. 降 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 下降 and 降低?

下降 (xiàjiàng) describes something dropping by itself, like 温度下降了 (the temperature dropped). 降低 (jiàngdī) usually takes an object and means to actively lower something, like 降低价格 (lower the price).

How do I know when 降 is read xiáng?

Read it xiáng when the meaning is surrender or subdue, as in 投降 (tóuxiáng). When the meaning is dropping or coming down, it is jiàng, which is far more common in everyday speech.