江河日下

jiānghé-rìxià

idiom #57,704

Meanings

1 rivers flow lower day by day
2 going from bad to worse
3 steadily deteriorating

Characters

river (Yangtze)

Examples

HSK 7-9

公司的业绩江河日下，老板非常担心。

Gōngsī de yèjì jiānghé-rìxià, lǎobǎn fēicháng dānxīn.

The company's performance is deteriorating daily, and the boss is very worried.

HSK 7-9

王朝末年，国力江河日下。

Wángcháo mònián, guólì jiānghé-rìxià.

In the dynasty's final years, the nation's strength declined steadily.

Tips

history

From Song statesman Su Zhe's 《栾城集·应诏进策》: 其状如长江大河，日夜浑浑趋于下而不能止 - 'like the great rivers, ceaselessly flowing lower by day and night.' Su Zhe used it to describe worsening political decay.

Stroke Order

江 jiāng

河 hé

日 rì

下 xià