ダウン

• Reading: ダウン
• Romaji: daun
• Pronunciation: /da.ɯɴ/

Meaning

Down; decrease; breakdown. A drop in level, or a system or person going down.

A loanword from English 'down' used as a noun and suru verb (ダウンする). Multiple applications: コストダウン (cost reduction), イメージダウン (reputation damage), サーバーがダウンする (server goes down). Also refers to down feathers: ダウンジャケット (down jacket). Very productive in compound words, many of which are wasei-eigo.

Examples

1. サーバーがダウンしてサイトにアクセスできない。 The server is down and I can't access the site.
2. 売上が大幅にダウンして困っている。 Sales have dropped significantly and it's a problem.
3. 風邪でダウンして三日間寝ていた。 I came down with a cold and was in bed for three days.

Usage Guide

Context: technology, business, health

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

Borrowed from English 'down.' Widely adopted in Japanese for expressing decreases, failures, and collapses. Used in many wasei-eigo compounds like コストダウン that do not exist in English.

Cultural Context

Era: Post-war

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal