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Can you please tell me the difference between these verbs: 下{した}向{む}く and 見{み}下{お}ろす I was writing a little "poem" but I came across this doubt xD.

This is the poem:

If you're always looking down, you will never see a rainbow.

My Japanese version would be:

いつも下向いてるなら、決して虹を見ることはない。

Which do you think is better? 下向く or 見下ろす?

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下を向く is just looking down, moving/keeping your head towards your feet.

見下ろす is used when you are looking at something that is at lower altitudes than where you are - looking at the scenery from a mountain, looking at the clouds from inside an airplane, looking at the streets below from a building, looking at someone from the second floor etc.

So in your case, 下を向く is the only option. 下向く is ok, but informal. As such, if you use it, you must make the whole sentence informal, e.g., いつも下向いてちゃけっして虹は見えないよ.

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  • Oh! Thank you for the answer! 🙏😊 Sep 22, 2021 at 9:16

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