Japanese symbol for “deteriorate”
下がる
さがる
Romaji: sagaru
to come down; to go down; to fall; to drop
In Japanese, deteriorate is 下がる, read さがる (sagaru).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- v5r, vi to come down; to go down; to fall; to drop; to sink; to get lower
- v5r, vi to hang; to dangle
- v5r, vi to move back; to step back; to withdraw; to retire
- v5r, vi to deteriorate; to fall off; to be downgraded
- v5r, vi to get closer to the present day
- v5r, vi to play a sagari; to extend downwards (go)
Written forms: 下がる、下る、退がる. Readings: さがる、サガる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “deteriorate”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 落ちる | おちる ochiru | to decrease (of popularity, quality, speed, sales, etc.); to fall; to drop |
| 崩れる | くずれる kuzureru | to turn bad (e.g. weather); to change for the worse; to deteriorate |
| 荒ぶ | すさぶ susabu | to become rough (of art, craft, etc.); to lose refinement; to deteriorate (of skill) |
| 悪くなる | わるくなる warukunaru | to get worse; to deteriorate; to go from bad to worse |
| 荒む | すさむ susamu | to become rough (of art, craft, etc.); to lose refinement; to deteriorate (of skill) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 以下 | いか ika | not exceeding ...; not more than ...; ... and under |
| 地下 | ちか chika | underground; below the ground |
| 低下 | ていか teika | fall; decline; lowering |
| 上下 | じょうげ jouge | top and bottom; high and low; above and below |
| 地下鉄 | ちかてつ chikatetsu | subway; metro; underground (railway) |
| 部下 | ぶか buka | subordinate person |
See also: Chinese symbol for “deteriorate”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.