下令

• Pinyin: xià lìng
• Hanzi breakdown: 下 = to send down, issue from above; 令 = 人 + 口 (person + mouth — an authoritative spoken directive)

Meaning

To issue an order; to give a command. Used when a person in authority formally directs subordinates, forces, or a system to carry out a specific action.

Typically used in military, governmental, judicial, and emergency management contexts. The subject must be an authority figure. Common pattern: 下令+verb phrase (order something to be done). Often collocates with 逮捕, 撤退, 封锁, 动员, and similar action verbs.

Examples

1. 最高法院下令冻结该公司的所有资产，以防止涉案人员在审判结束前转移财产。 The Supreme Court ordered all of the company’s assets frozen to prevent those involved from transferring property before the trial ends.
2. 市长下令启动一级应急预案，调动全市消防力量参与扑救山区持续蔓延的森林火灾。 The mayor ordered the highest-level emergency plan activated, mobilizing the city’s firefighting forces to battle a forest fire spreading through the mountains.
3. 指挥官在收到最新情报后立即下令部队转移阵地，以规避即将到来的夜间突袭。 After receiving the latest intelligence, the commander immediately ordered the troops to relocate their positions to avoid an impending nighttime raid.

Usage Guide

Context: military, government, law, emergency management

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 省级应急管理部门在强台风登陆前四十八小时下令对沿海低洼地区实施强制疏散，确保约十二万名居民在灾害抵达前转移至安全地点。(The provincial emergency management department issued an order forty-eight hours before a severe typhoon made landfall to compulsorily evacuate coastal low-lying areas, ensuring that approximately 120,000 residents were relocated to safe locations before the disaster struck.)
• 国际刑警组织在各成员国的协调配合下向相关司法管辖区下令实施联合行动，成功将这名在逃多年的跨国金融诈骗案嫌犯缉拿归案。(Under the coordinated cooperation of member states, Interpol issued orders to the relevant jurisdictions to implement a joint operation, successfully apprehending this transnational financial fraud suspect who had been at large for many years.)

Don't Say

• 下令 when the directive comes from a peer or equal — use 要求 or 请求; 下令 strictly implies top-down authority, so using it for requests from non-authority figures sounds unnatural or presumptuous

Origin & History

下 (to issue, send down from authority) + 令 (order, command — 人+ 口, person + mouth — a spoken directive from above)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal