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I always read 降る as ふる but for a particular sentence I noticed that the reading was written as くだる. Are there any tips to help figure out which reading to use?

Examples:

たとえ雨が降ろうとサイクリングにいくぞ。
I will go cycling even if it rains. [M]

目が覚めてみると、雪が降っていた。
I awoke to find it snowing.

I'm not sure if this is user-error. When I click on listen, the woman reads it using ふる, but the software wants me to use くだる. Maybe I should change the question to ask what I should say in my bug report? ☺

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  • I know that there are some cases where 降る is read as くだる, but if you know some examples, please include them in the question.
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Jul 5, 2011 at 22:44
  • Sure, it's from a sentence in my SRS deck that I keep getting wrong. Didn't want to dig around, but I'll find it.
    – Louis Waweru
    Jul 5, 2011 at 23:16
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    As for the two examples you presented, they are both ふる.
    – user458
    Jul 6, 2011 at 0:02
  • Good to know I was actually reading it correctly, but now I'm kind of curious to see a sentence with くだる.
    – Louis Waweru
    Jul 6, 2011 at 0:07
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    I can post a Bible verse where it is くだる if that kind of thing isn't "against" the "rules".
    – istrasci
    Jul 6, 2011 at 0:25

1 Answer 1

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広辞苑 lists both 【下】and【降】in the entry for 【くだる】. It says that【降】is often used when くだる means "going/coming down from a high place to a lower place all at once (as opposed to a gradual descent)" or when it means like "surrendering to an enemy" (降参).

Since the former definition is quite a common occurrence, you might see the 【降】 in written and/or a more 改まった context.

Here is a Bible verse demonstrating the former. As I posted in the comment to the OP, I was a little concerned about posting this, but feel it is directly grammatically related to the question.

「イエスは洗礼を受けると、すぐ水の中から上がられた。そのとき、天がイエスに向かって開いた。イエスは、神の霊が鳩【はと】のように御自分の上に降って来るのを御覧になった。」　マタイによる福音書　3:16

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  • By “both letters in the entry for 【くだる】,” do you mean 下る and 降る?
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Jul 6, 2011 at 1:59
  • Oops...Yes, that's what I meant.
    – istrasci
    Jul 6, 2011 at 2:35

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