Meaning and Usage
The verb '내려가다' means 'to go down' or 'to descend'. It is commonly used when talking about physically moving downward from a higher place to a lower place.
Common Contexts
You will often hear '내려가다' when someone is getting off a vehicle, descending stairs, or going down a hill or mountain. It implies movement from a higher position to a lower one.
Collocations and Patterns
- '버스에서 내려가다': to get off the bus
- '산을 내려가다': to go down the mountain
- '계단을 내려가다': to go down the stairs
These collocations are very common in daily conversation.
Register and Politeness
'내려가다' is neutral and can be used in both formal and informal contexts. To make it polite, you can add polite endings like '-요' (내려가요).
Common Mistakes
Learners sometimes confuse '내려가다' with '내리다'. '내리다' is a transitive verb meaning 'to lower' or 'to let someone/something down', while '내려가다' is intransitive, focusing on the subject moving down by itself.