Onyomi: カ, ゲ · Kunyomi: -くだ.す, お.りる, お.ろす, くだ.さる, くだ.す, くだ.り, くだ.る, さ.がる, さ.げる, した, しも, もと · Meanings: below, descend, down, give, inferior, low
Kanji for below, descend, down, give, inferior
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Find visually similar kanji, commonly confused characters, related meanings, and useful words connected to 下.
The kanji 下 began as a simple drawing showing a line placed below another horizontal mark. In ancient oracle bone script, it represented the concept of something being underneath or lower in position. The upper line symbolized the surface or ground, and the short stroke beneath it marked what lies below. Over time, this clear spatial image came to express “down,” “below,” or “under.” It also extended to ideas of lowering, descending, or something inferior in level or rank.
Depicts a short line placed under a main horizontal line — the image of being beneath or below. 下 represents the direction “down” or the position “under.”
This kanji declares: the stroke stands below the line — 下 means down, beneath, or under, showing what lies lower than the top.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 下 | した | below, down, under, younger (e.g. daughter) | common JLPT-N5 Noun |
| 下がる | さがる | to come down, to go down, to fall, to drop, to sink, to get lower | common JLPT-N4 JLPT-N1 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 下 | もと | under (guidance, supervision, rules, the law, etc.) | common Noun |
| 下 | しも | lower reaches (of a river) | JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 下 | げ | lowness (of degree, value, etc.), inferiority | JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 下 | か | under (influence, control, conditions, etc. of), during (war, occupation, etc.) | Suffix |
| 下ル | さがる | below, south of | Suffix |
| 下さい | ください | please (give me) | common JLPT-N5 Expressions (phrases, clauses, etc.) |
| 降りる | おりる | to descend (e.g. a mountain), to go down, to come down | common JLPT-N4 JLPT-N5 Ichidan verb, Intransitive verb |
| 下手 | へた | unskillful, poor, awkward | common JLPT-N5 Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun |