How to read 下: 12 readings with examples

The Jōyō Kanji table lists 12 readings for 下. Which one you use depends on the word it sits in, so learn the words below and the reading comes with them.

On'yomi

カkaゲge

Kun'yomi

したshitaしもshimoもとmotoさ(げる)sageruさ(がる)sagaruくだ(る)kudaruくだ(す)kudasuくだ(さる)kudasaruお(ろす)orosuお(りる)oriru

Word	Reading	Type	Meaning
地下	ちかchika	On	underground
下水	げすいgesui	On	sewage
机の下	つくえのしたtsukuenoshita	Kun	under the desk
川下	かわしもkawashimo	Kun	downstream
法の下	ほうのもとhounomoto	Kun	under the law
下げる	さげるsageru	Kun	to lower
下がる	さがるsagaru	Kun	to go down, drop
下る	くだるkudaru	Kun	to descend
下す	くだすkudasu	Kun	to hand down (a decision)
下さい	くださいkudasai	Kun	please (give me)
下ろす	おろすorosu	Kun	to take down, withdraw
下りる	おりるoriru	Kun	to go down, get off
下手	へたheta	Special	unskillful

Special readings (jukujikun) are read as a whole word, so you can't split them by character.

How to tell which reading of 下 to use

カ and ゲ appear in compounds. カ often means below or under (地下, 以下); ゲ is common in words about getting off or going down (下車, 下山). Learn each word.
On its own, 下 is した (under). しも is mostly found in set words such as 川下.
Verb pairs: 下げる / 下がる (lower / drop), 下る / 下す (descend / hand down), 下りる / 下ろす (get off / take down). ください comes from 下さる.

Seen in JapanTrain platforms: 下り (kudari) trains head away from Tokyo or the main city.

Quiz

Can you read these sentences?

Why does one kanji have so many readings?

Kanji came to Japan from China over several centuries. Each wave brought the Chinese pronunciation of its time and place, and Japanese kept the older sounds alongside the newer ones. Those borrowed sounds are the on'yomi. For example, 生 is セイ in 先生 but ショウ in 一生. Japanese also attached its own native words to the characters, and those are the kun'yomi.

Sounds also shift when words join: ひ becomes び in 日曜日, ひと becomes びと in 人々, and ふん becomes ぷん in 三分. That is why the readings listed in a dictionary don't always match what you hear.