降

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese character 降 (jiàng) is composed of two parts: 雨 (yǔ), which means "rain", and 下 (xià), which means "down". The character 降 literally means "rain coming down", and it is often used to refer to precipitation in general. In addition to its literal meaning, 降 can also be used figuratively to refer to a decrease in something, such as a drop in temperature or a decline in stock prices.The character 降 is first attested in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing. In oracle bone script, 降 is depicted as a rain cloud with drops of rain falling from it. This pictographic representation of 降 clearly illustrates its original meaning of "rain coming down".Over time, the character 降 has undergone some changes in its form. In modern Chinese, 降 is written as a combination of the characters 雨 and 下. This combination of characters is a semantic-phonetic compound, in which the character 雨 provides the semantic meaning of "rain" and the character 下 provides the phonetic pronunciation of jiàng.The character 降 has a rich history and a variety of meanings. It is a versatile character that can be used in a variety of contexts, both literal and figurative.