Increase Decrease, Part 2A

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 pair 提高 (tígāo) and 降低 (jiàngdī). Use the translations “to raise” and “to lower.”

Structure for 提高 / 降低

Use 提高 or 降低 as transitive verbs in this way:

Subj. + [ 提高 / 降低 ] + Obj.

Common Phrases

Some common objects to be used with 提高 or 降低 include:

• 提高 能力 tígāo nénglìto improve abilities
• 降低 水平 jiàngdī shuǐpínglower level

These verbs are usually used in relation to levels or abilities, and in this sense 提高 is often translated as “improve.” (Note that for many of the things you talk about “improving,” it may not make sense to use 降低 .) The words 提高 and 降低 are not used equally often in Chinese, the word 提高 being much more frequent. This is largely for psychological reasons, since we frequently talk about what we’re actively trying to “raise,” and not about what we are trying to “lower.” This is not to say that 降低 is not used in certain circumstances; it’s just used comparatively less often.

Common Phrases

• 提高 效率 tígāo xiàolǜincrease efficiency
• 提高 质量 tígāo zhìliàngimprove quality
• 提高 产量 tígāo chǎnliàngincrease output
• 提高 地位 tígāo dìwèiimprove status
• 提高 业绩 tígāo yèjìimprove performance

• 降低 成本 jiàngdī chéngběncost reduction
• 降低 费用 jiàngdī fèiyòngreduced costs
• 降低 风险 jiàngdī fēngxiǎnrisk reduction

Example Sentences

• 你的 听力 不错，可是 你 还 需要 提高 口语 水平。 Nǐ de tīnglì bùcuò, kěshì nǐ hái xūyào tígāo kǒuyǔ shuǐpíng. Your listening skills are good, but you still need to improve your speaking skills.
• 你们 需要 提高 服务 质量。 Nǐmen xūyào tígāo fúwù zhìliàng. You need to improve the quality of your services.
• 在 外国 公司 工作，可以 提高 我的 工作 能力。 Zài wàiguó gōngsī gōngzuò, kěyǐ tígāo wǒ de gōngzuò nénglì. Working in a foreign company will improve my professional abilities.
• 公司 要求 我们 减少 产品 种类，降低 成本。 Gōngsī yāoqiú wǒmen jiǎnshǎo chǎnpǐn zhǒnglèi, jiàngdī chéngběn. The company asked us to reduce our product offerings and costs.
• 使用 这种 新 科技 不仅 能 够 提高 效率，而且 还 能 降低 人工 成本。 Shǐyòng zhèzhǒng xīn kējì bùjǐn néng gòu tígāo xiàolǜ, érqiě hái néng jiàngdī réngōng chéngběn. Using this new technology will not only increase efficiency, but also reduce labor costs.
• 房地产商 的 目标 是 尽 可能 地 降低 开发 费用。 FángdechǎnShāng de mùbiāo shì jǐn kěnéng de jiàngdī kāifā fèiyòng. The goal of a real estate developer is to reduce development costs as much as possible.

NOTE: for the sake of naturalness, we’ll use “professional abilities” instead of “work ability” for 工作能力. Note that 提高 is often used intransitively (without an object). In these cases, what would normally be the object is made the subject, and 提高 simply means “improve.”

Example Sentences

• 你们的 服务 质量 还 需要 提高。 Nǐmen de fúwù zhìliàng hái xūyào tígāo. The quality of your service needs to be improved.
• 用 了 新 技术 以后,我们 生产 产品的 效率 提高 了。 Yòng le xīn jìshù yǐhòu, wǒmen shēngchǎn chǎnpǐn de xiàolǜ tígāo le.With the new technology, we are able to produce products more efficiently.

Pattern Using Modal verbs

Structure

Subj. + [ 需要 / 可以 / 想 ] + 提高 + Obj.

Example Sentences

• 我的 听力 还 不错，但是 我 要 提高 我的 口语 水平。 Wǒ de tīnglì hái bùcuò, dànshì wǒ yào tígāo wǒ de kǒuyǔ shuǐpíng.My listening is not bad, but I want to improve my speaking.
• 你们 需要 提高 服务 质量。 Nǐmen xūyào tígāo fúwù zhìliàng.You need to improve the quality of your services.
• 在 贵 公司 工作，可以 提高 我的 工作 能力。 Zài guì gōngsī gōngzuò, kěyǐ tígāo wǒ de gōngzuò nénglì.Working at your company will improve my professional abilities.
• 一 个 公司 想 要 发展，需要 提高 它的 创新 能力。 Yī gè gōngsī xiǎng yào fāzhǎn, xūyào tígāo tā de chuàngxīn nénglì. For a company to grow, it needs to improve its ability to innovate.
• 想要 提高 工厂的 生产 效率，必须 更换 新 设备。 xiǎng yào tígāo gōngchǎng de shēngchǎn xiàolǜ, bìxū gēnghuàn xīn shèbèi. To increase the productivity of the plant, it must be replaced with new equipment .
• 公司 为了 提高 经济 收益, 开始 招聘 大量 人才。 Gōngsī wèile tígāo jīngjì shōuyì, kāishǐ zhāopìn dàliàng réncái. In order to increase economic profitability, companies start to recruit a large number of people.
• 通过 改革 可以 提高 企业的 生产力 和 竞争 能力。 Tōngguò gǎigé kěyǐ tígāo qǐyè de shēngchǎnlì hé jìngzhēng nénglì.Reforms can improve the productivity and competitive ability of a company.

Pattern Using an Object

Structure

Subj. + 提高 + 了 + Obj.

Example Sentences

• 公司 减少 了 开会 次数，提高 了 工作 效率。 Gōngsī jiǎnshǎo le kāi huì cìshù, tígāo le gōngzuò xiàolǜ.The company has reduced the number of meetings and improved work efficiency.
• 公司 更换 了 新的 设备，提高 了 工厂 的 生产 效率。 Gōngsī gēnghuàn le xīn de shèbèi, tígāo le gōngchǎng de shēngchǎn xiàolǜ.The company replaced its equipment with new ones, increasing the plant's productivity.
• 这 半年,我 负责 了 很多 项目，提高 了 我的 工作 能力。 Zhè bànnián, wǒ fùzé le hěn duō xiàngmù, tígāo le wǒ de gōngzuò nénglì.In the past half year, I have been in charge of many projects and improved my professional abilities.
• 通过 和 谷歌 合作，提高 了 我们 公司 的 知名度。 Tōngguò hé Gǔgē hézuò, tígāo le wǒmen gōngsī de zhīmíngdù.By partnering with Google, we have increased our company's visibility.
• 这 家 餐厅 提高 了 他们的 服务 质量。 Zhè jiā cāntīng tígāo le tāmen de fúwù zhìliàng.This restaurant has improved the quality of their service.
• 新中国 成立 以后，提高 了 妇女的 地位。 Xīn Zhōngguó chénglì yǐhòu, tígāo le fùnǚ de dìwèi.Since the founding of New China, the status of women has been raised.
• 社会 经济 的 发展 提高 了 人民的 生活 水平。 Shèhuì jīngjì de fāzhǎn tígāo le rénmín de shēnghuó shuǐpíng.Socio-economic development has improved the standard of living of its people.