Meaning
under; second (of two parts); next (week; etc.); lower; below
Chinese: 位置在低处，也表示向下或之后。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xia” becomes a different word in each tone. 下 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 下午xià wǔafternoon; p.m.
- 下次xià cìnext time
- 下班xià bānto finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc)
- 坐下zuò xiato sit down
- 楼下lóu xiàdownstairs
Example Sentence
请把书放在桌子下面。Qǐng bǎ shū fàng zài zhuō zi xià mian.Please put the book under the table.
请Qǐngto ask把bǎ(marks the object)书shūbook放fàngto put在zàiat桌子zhuō zitable下面xià mianbelow。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
An indicative character: a mark placed below a baseline to mean ‘down / below’. It is the mirror image of 上 ‘up’.
A way to remember it
A short stroke hanging under the line — below.
Easy to confuse with
- 上‘Up / above’: the same idea flipped — the mark sits above the line.