下る
下る · godan verb (-ru)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 下る | 下らない |
| Polite | 下ります | 下りません |
| Past polite | 下りました | 下りませんでした |
| Past | 下った | 下らなかった |
| Te-form | 下って | 下らないで |
| Desire | 下りたい | 下りたくない |
| Potential | 下れる | 下れない |
| Passive | 下られる | 下られない |
| Causative | 下らせる | 下らせない |
| Causative passive | 下らせられるalso 下らされる | 下らせられないalso 下らされない |
| Volitional | 下ろう | |
| Polite volitional | 下りましょう | |
| Imperative | 下れ | 下るな |
| Conditional | 下れば | 下らなければ |
| Tara conditional | 下ったら | 下らなかったら |
Meanings
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
descend; go down; go downstream
Intransitive motion downward, often along a road, slope, river, or from a higher place to a lower one. A route may be marked with を, as in 川を下る.
In the afternoon, we went down the river by boat.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be handed down; be issued; be given
Used of an order, judgment, verdict, or official decision coming down from an authority.
A judgment was handed down by the court.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
pass; move to a later time
Used especially in written or historical contexts for time moving forward or a period becoming later, as in 時代が下る.
As time passed, the writing style also changed.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
Used when a person, army, castle, or group yields to an opponent or authority. 降る is a natural spelling for this sense, though 下る is also seen.
The castle soldiers finally surrendered to the enemy.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be less than; be inferior to
Most often appears in the negative form 下らない, meaning 'not less than' a number or 'not inferior to' someone or something. The numeric construction is relatively common in formal writing; the inferiority sense is stiffer and less common.
The number of participants will probably be no fewer than five thousand.
His skill is not inferior to his teacher's.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
have diarrhea; have the runs
Commonly used in the fixed expression 腹が下る, literally 'one's stomach/bowels go down.' The rare spelling 瀉る may be seen for this medical or bodily sense.
See also: 腹が下る
I drank too many cold things and got diarrhea.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be passed in stool; be discharged from the body
Physiological or medical-style use for something being expelled from the body, especially through stool. This is much narrower than the ordinary 'go down' sense.
The deworming medicine caused the worms to be passed.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
depreciate oneself; be humble
Archaic use meaning to lower oneself or behave humbly. It is not a productive modern everyday use of 下る.
In old writing, 下る is sometimes used to mean lowering oneself.
Usage patterns
- 〈場所〉を下るto go down along a road, slope, or river
We went down the mountain path.
- 〈事〉が下るfor an order, verdict, or decision to be handed down
The court handed down its verdict.
- 〈相手〉に下るto surrender to an opponent
The castle finally surrendered to the enemy.
- 〈数〉を下らないto be not less than a certain number
The number of participants will probably not be less than a thousand.
- 時代が下るfor an era or time period to move to a later time
As the era progressed, lifestyles also changed.