Where 下 comes from
One stroke under another; compare 上 (above)
How to write 下 (xià, “down”)
下 (xià), an HSK 1 character, means “down”, “downwards” and “below”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 一下 (“a bit”), 下午 (“afternoon”) and 下班 (“to finish work”). Japanese reads it ka, “below”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- xià
- Strokes
- 3
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 一 (“one”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
As a top-bottom character it splits into 一 (“one”, the radical), stroke 1; 卜 (“divination”), strokes 2–3, written the top first.
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 3 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| xià fourth tone | down; downwards; below; lower; later | — | 一下 下午 下班 下课 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 470 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 下
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 下 | xià | down; downwards HSK 1 |
| 一下 | yíxià | (after a verb) a bit; a little… HSK 1 |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon; p.m. HSK 1 |
| 下班 | xiàbān | to finish work; to get off work HSK 1 |
| 下课 下課 | xiàkè | to finish class; to get out of class HSK 1 |
| 下雨 | xiàyǔ | to rain HSK 1 |
| 下去 | xiàqù | to go down; to descend HSK 2 |
| 下来 下來 | xiàlái | to come down; completed action marker HSK 2 |
| 下面 | xiàmiàn | below; under HSK 2 |
| 以下 | yǐxià | that level or lower; that amount or less HSK 3 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: