下来
xiàlái · HSK 3
come down from a higher place
⬇️ 下来 = down + come; directional verb 'come down (toward speaker)'
下 means 'down/below' and 来 means 'come'. Together they mark motion descending toward the speaker, contrasting with 下去 (down + go) which moves away from the speaker.
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.
来 — pictograph of a wheat plant with grain heads
来 originally depicted a stalk of wheat with drooping grain heads, and meant 'wheat' in oracle bone script. It was later borrowed phonetically to write the unrelated verb 'to come,' which became its dominant meaning. The original 'wheat' sense was taken over by 麥 (now 麦).