Increase Decrease, Part 1A

This page is part of a "Increase, Decrease" series on mastering all of the Chinese words related to these English terms. These words are especially helpful in discussing business at an upper intermediate (B2) level.

This part focuses on the word pairs 上涨 / 涨​ ​(​shàngzhǎng / zhǎng​) and ​下跌 / 跌​ (​xiàdiē / diē​). The words 上涨 / 涨 (shàngzhǎng/zhǎng) are relatively interchangeable. For both, you can use the translations "to rise" and "to go up" (which are also intransitive in English and can help keep you on the right track). The words 下跌 / 跌 (xiàdiē/diē) are also relatively interchangeable. For those two use the translations “to fall” and “to go down” (also intransitive in English).

Structure for 上涨 / 下跌

Use 上涨 / 涨 or 下跌 / 跌 as intransitive verbs in this way:

Subj. + [ 上涨 / 下跌 ]

上涨 / 涨 and 下跌 / 跌 are intransitive verbs meaning they cannot take objects.

Common Phrases

These words are commonly used to talk about prices :

• 价格 上涨 jiàgé shàngzhǎng price increase
• 房价 下跌 fángjià xiàdiē house price decrease
• 股价 上涨 gǔjià shàngzhǎng stock price increase
• 物价 下跌 wùjià xiàdiē price drop

Example Sentences

• 中国的 房价 一直 在 上涨。 Zhōngguó de fángjià yīzhí zài shàngzhǎng. China's housing prices have been going up.
• 我 买 的 股票的 价格 上涨 了 2%。 Wǒ mǎi de gǔpiào de jiàgé shàngzhǎng le bǎi fēn zhī èr. The price of the stock I bought went up by 2%.
• 最近 物价 一直 在 下跌。 Zuìjìn wùjià yīzhí zài xiàdiē. Recently, prices have been dropping.
• 成都的 房价 这个 季度 比 上个 季度 下跌 了 3%。 Chéngdū de fángjià zhège jìdù bǐ shàng gè jìdù xiàdiē le bǎi fēn zhī sān.Home prices in Chengdu fell 3% this quarter compared to the previous quarter.

Word Order Exception for 涨

There are two very common fixed phrases that make 涨 feel like a transitive verb (one that takes an object):

1. 涨价 (zhǎng jià), meaning “prices go up”
2. 涨工资 (zhǎng gōngzī), meaning “salary goes up.”

Example Sentences

• 你们 又 涨 价 了。 Nǐmen yòu zhǎng jià le.You have increased the price again.
• 老板 给 我 涨 工资 了。 Lǎobǎn gěi wǒ zhǎng gōngzī le.The boss gave me a raise in salary.
• 那 我 也 要 涨 工资。 Nà wǒ yě yào zhǎng gōngzī. Then I want to raise my salary, too.

Pattern Using 一直在

Structure

Subj. + 一直在 + [ 上涨 / 下跌 ]

More advanced learners can also substitute 一直在 for 不断 (or even use both together). We won’t focus on the more advanced pattern here.

Subj. + (一直在 +) 不断 + [ 上涨 / 下跌 ]

Example Sentences

• 最近 2 个 月 农产品 的 价格 一直 在 上涨。 Zuìjìn liǎng gè yuè nóngchǎnpǐn de jiàgé yīzhí zài shàngzhǎng. The prices of agricultural products have been rising for the last 2 months.
• 今年 汽车的 价格 一直 在 下跌。 Jīnnián qìchē de jiàgé yīzhí zài xiàdiē. The price of cars has been falling this year.
• 上海的 物价 最近 一直 在 上涨。 Shànghǎi de wùjià zuìjìn yīzhí zài shàngzhǎng. Prices in Shanghai have been going up recently.
• 这 几 年 的 房价 一直 在 上涨 Zhè jǐ nián de fángjià yīzhí zài shàngzhǎng. Housing prices have been rising over the past few years.
• 我 买的 这 支 股票 一直 在 下跌。 Wǒ mǎi de zhè zhī gǔpiào yīzhí zài xiàdiē. This stock I bought has been falling.