下跌
xiàdié · HSK 7
fall
📉 下 = down + 跌 = stumble/fall; together they mean a downward fall or decline
下 marks 'down/below' and 跌 means to stumble or trip. Stacked together they name a fall in value — prices, stocks, or temperatures dropping. Often the opposite of 上涨 (rise).
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'.
跌 — foot radical 足 + 失 (lose)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 足 (foot) gives the meaning 'related to feet/stepping,' while 失 (shī, 'lose') supplies the sound and hints at losing one's footing. The original sense was to stumble or trip, which naturally extended to 'fall down' and later to figurative falls like a drop in price.