Kanji 下 — "Below"
Here is what 下 means, how it is read, what it is built from, and a story that makes "Below" stick.
Also means: Down, Under
How it is read
か, げ
the reading borrowed from Chinese — usually appears in compound words
した, しも, もと, さ.げる, さ.がる, くだ.る, くだ.り, くだ.す, -くだ.す, くだ.さる, お.ろす, お.りる
the native Japanese reading — usually appears when the kanji stands alone
How to remember it
Kanji are not random strokes. Learn the parts and the whole becomes easy. Put the parts together into one picture. The stranger it is, the harder it is to forget.
One Branch hanging down from the bottom — this kanji means Below!
- ⼀ One
A single stroke counts as the number One, see? Japanese is that simple!
- ト Branch
When the straight line has a stroke coming out from the side, it's no longer a staff. It's a Branch!
Words that use 下
12 of 44 words in the app that contain this kanji — the most common ones first.
- 下さい ください please
- 下 した / しも / げ below, under
- 部下 ぶか one's subordinate
- 下手 へた unskilled
- 下がる さがる to descend, to drop, to fall
- 下る くだる to get down, to descend
- 下げる さげる to lower (v.t.), to hang
- 下ろす おろす to take down, to lower, to withdraw (money) (v.t.)
- 天下 てんか the world, whole country
- 下りる おりる to get down, to go, come down
- 地下 ちか basement, underground
- 以下 いか less than, or less, below
Want 下 to still be there next month?
Reading it once is not remembering it. The app brings each kanji back right before you would have forgotten it.
