下
Below
| on’yomi | kun’yomi | Radicals |
|---|---|---|
| か | した, さが, くだ | ト + 一 |
Meaning: Below
There’s a toe below ground.
So, where is the toe now? It’s below ground. Imagine yourself digging it out, and thinking… ugh, why does it have to be below ground like this? So irritating.
Reading: か
You keep digging for the toe below the ground, and instead of hitting a toe you hit something hard and metalic. You keep digging and digging around it, but it’s huge. Turns out, you found yourself a car (か).
There’s another useful on’yomi reading that just isn’t useful enough for you to learn now. That reading is げ, but we’re only going to worry about that much, much later when you have to learn one or two vocab words that read 下 as げ. That’s the problem with really common kanji – too many readings.
Vocabulary
Learn the meanings of the words below before moving on, but also try to learn the readings as well as you can. If you learn a couple now, it will greatly help you out when you see them in your flashcards.
a 下（した）＝ Below, Under, Down
- Meaning: The exact opposite of 上. This word’s meaning is the same as the kanji’s meaning.
- Reading: The reading for this vocab word is the kun’yomi reading (as it often is when a vocab word consists of a single kanji, all alone). Look under something… anything… what’s underneath? It’s a big pile of した… Who did that??
a 下がる（さがる）＝ To come down
- Meaning: This is when something comes down on its own – you have no control over it and you’re not the one doing the lowering.
- Reading: This word and the next follow the same pattern as 上げる and 上がる. If you know those patterns, you can piece together 下がる and 下げる too.
a 下げる（さげる）＝ To lower something, to hang something
- Meaning: This is when you’re affecting the lowering. You’re lowering/hanging the picture… You’ve got the power.
- Reading: This word and the next follow the same pattern as 上げる and 上がる. If you know those patterns, you can piece together 下がる and 下げる too.
a _＿＿下さい（___ください）＝ Please _____
- Meaning: This word is almost a grammar point in itself, but we’ll learn it here anyways. By adding 下さい to a te-form verb (don’t worry if you don’t know what this is yet) you’re saying “Please ______.” So, if you don’t mind, “please just learn the meaning of this word and move on… don’t worry about the grammar yet.”
- Reading: The reading of this vocab word is an exception that you have to learn straight up. Don’t worry, once you learn te-form, this kanji in this form will be a common sighting, so you’ll learn it that way. Just plant the seed now so it’s ready to grow later.