倒下 (dǎo xià) — to fall down; to collapse

Definition

倒下 (dǎo xià) emphasizes the transition from standing/upright to lying on the ground — used for people fainting or collapsing, and structures caving in. Verb-object separable verb: can split as 倒下来 or 倒了再下.

verb
to fall downto collapse

Examples

  • 倒下
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng tū rán dǎo xià le.
    He suddenly fell down during the competition.
  • 倒下
    Nà miàn lǎo qiáng zài bào fēng yǔ zhōng dǎo xià le.
    That old wall collapsed in the storm.
  • 倒下
    Tā yīn wèi guò dù pí láo ér dǎo xià le.
    He collapsed from overwork.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

倒下 combines 倒 'fall' and 下 'down' to mean collapse.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asrén
Sound part声符shēngfú
dàodào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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