Before I go to bed I wanted to make a post for a question that was on my mind, is there a difference in the use cases for the words: 下りる, 下がる, 下る? To me they seem to mean pretty similar things, at least in the case of their most common meanings. Is one used more with people and one used more for inanimate objects, etc? I don’t know where to look these kinds of things up other than just figuring it out through immersion. So I’d also be interested if anyone knows of a resource like that.
All of these verbs have quite a few contextual meanings / translations, but generally speaking for general use of “going down” (if memory is serving me correctly, please correct me if wrong / lacking nuances);
下る - used for gradual/slower/longer-term (downward) travel, like going down a mountain, floating down a river, or (more culturally) traveling in a southern direction
ex. “高い山を下る” I’ll descend the tall mountain
下りる - also used for downward travel, though less of a gradual process. Using the mountain example, 下る would be used for something like a leisure hike, though 下りる would better fit if you did something like Ski down. Think quicker downward actions like going down to a basement, down a ladder, jumping down a tree, etc.
ex. “階段を下りる” I will go down the stairs
下がる - used for a thing being low(er) or falling/sinking/dropping downwards. Used in relation of physical objects eg. pants, though also very common when talking about more conceptual subjects eg. grades at school or the temperature going down
ex. “今日は寒いから気温が下がる” Today is cold since the temperature is lowering
If you have not used it already, for quick but thorough reference on vocabulary- I highly recommend Jisho.org. It’s a pretty wonderful dictionary with great information on Vocab and Kanji alike. If you want to get accustomed on some of these verbs other general usages it’s a great place to look
This is just what I was looking for, thank you!