TongTong
Sign in

降级 (jiàng jí) — to demote; to downgrade (in rank or grade)

Definition

降级 means to lower someone in rank, title, or academic grade — typically applied to people (employees, students). For non-living things like software or products, 降级 is the standard term; for a literal downward movement use 下降.

verb
to demoteto downgrade (in rank or grade)

Examples

  • ，降级。
    Yīn wèi gōng zuò shī wù, tā bèi jiàng jí le.
    Because of a work mistake, he was demoted.
  • 降级。
    Xué xiào jué dìng bǎ jǐ gè chéng jì chà de xué shēng jiàng jí.
    The school decided to downgrade several students with poor grades.
  • 。
    Tā qù nián bèi jiàng guò liǎng cì jí.
    He was demoted twice last year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

降jiànglower
级jígrade

降 means lower, and 级 names the grade; together it means to lower someone's grade.

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
阝Written in full as阜fùhill, wall
Sound part声符shēngfú
夅
夅jiàng降xiáng
Same sound today

降 pairs 阝 (a hill or wall, written in full as 阜) with 夅, a sound part meaning 'to descend'; together they picture descending a hill.

Open 降 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
Appears in
Workplace & Office

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.