To Get Lower
To Go Down, To Come Down, To Hang Down
intransitive verb, godan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb.
This is an intransitive verb. That means it does not take a direct object. The kanji means below so this means something gets lower, by falling or dropping. For example: Prices get lower or fall. Squirrels come down from trees. See? No direct object here. That's why this verb means to get lower or to go down.
Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it's probably going to be the kun'yomi reading. Let's use a mnemonic to remember the reading of the kanji:
You know it means to fall so instead of using a saw (さ) to cut down the tree, you decide to let it come to you. It has to come down all by itself. Picture yourself placing a saw at the foot of a tree then sitting back and waiting for it to drop itself at your knees. (This could actually work, don't you judge my methods!)
モチベーションが下がる
motivation goes down
コストが下がる
costs go down
レベルが下がる
the level goes down
どんどん下がる
to go lower and lower
さらに下がる
to go further down
少し下がる
to lower a little
下に下がる
to go down
半分に下がる
to go halfway down
うしろに下がる
to go backwards, to step back
雨の日は気分が下がる。
My mood is lower on rainy days.
すみません。ジーンズが下がってパンツが見えてますよ。
Excuse me. Your jeans are hanging down and I can see your panties.
去年からスコアが下がった。
Scores have dropped since last year.