下がる
sa-ga-ru
When your head goes down, that is respect
The picture Something high moves lower. As the height drops, so does the force behind it. 下がる falls and drains away; 上がる rises and fills up.
Where the picture shows up in 下がる
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A body number drops
熱が下がって安心しました。
netsu ga sagatte anshin shimashita
His fever came down, so I relaxed.
The red line in the thermometer slides back down the scale.
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Results drop
今月は売り上げが下がりました。
kongetsu wa uriage ga sagari-mashita
Sales were down this month.
The sales line bends off last month's point and heads downward.
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Stepping back
白線の内側に下がってください。
hakusen no uchigawa ni sagatte kudasai
Please step back behind the white line.
A foot that was out front steps back behind the white line.
The picture is moving down a notch from the front to the back.
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Hanging from above
天井から電気が下がっています。
tenjō kara denki ga sagatte imasu
A light hangs from the ceiling.
A lamp hangs slack at the end of a cord from the ceiling.
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The head goes down on its own
あの人には頭が下がります。
ano hito ni wa atama ga sagari-masu
I take my hat off to that person.
A head that was held straight drops forward and down on its own.
Respect is pictured as your head physically lowering.
All of it in one picture
下がる is one arrow pointing down. The red line drops and the fever breaks; the graph drops and sales are down; a foot drops back behind the line and you have stepped back; a lamp drops slack from the ceiling and it hangs; a head drops on its own and you are bowing. So 下がる always carries this: as the height comes down, the force behind it comes down too.