# 江河日下

jiāng hé rì xià

Deteriorate steadily

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Rivers flow downward day by day

**Register:** Somber · general

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Describe worsening conditions over time.

Usually a continuing trend, not one isolated bad event.

## Understanding the expression

River water keeps traveling downward, giving decline a continuous direction. The expression describes worsening business, reputation, quality, or other conditions across time. It often appears when repeated signs point to a sustained negative trend. A single disappointing result is not enough by itself. A useful sentence names the evidence of decline, such as fewer customers or weaker service, and leaves room for practical intervention rather than presenting deterioration as an unavoidable natural law.

## Examples

那家店的服务江河日下。

### Traditional Chinese

那家店的服務江河日下。

nà jiā diàn de fú wù jiāng hé rì xià 。

The shop's service keeps deteriorating.

产品质量江河日下，用户纷纷离开。

### Traditional Chinese

產品質量江河日下，用戶紛紛離開。

chǎn pǐn zhì liàng jiāng hé rì xià ， yòng hù fēn fēn lí kāi 。

Declining quality drove users away.

他担心公司的声誉江河日下。

### Traditional Chinese

他擔心公司的聲譽江河日下。

tā dān xīn gōng sī de shēng yù jiāng hé rì xià 。

He fears the company's reputation is steadily declining.

数据表明销量江河日下，需要调整。

### Traditional Chinese

數據表明銷量江河日下，需要調整。

shù jù biǎo míng xiāo liàng jiāng hé rì xià ， xū yào tiáo zhěng 。

The data shows falling sales that require a response.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%B1%9F%E6%B2%B3%E6%97%A5%E4%B8%8B)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=671&webMd=1&la=0)

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