The kanji 堕 generally conveys the idea of "to fall," "to descend," or "to degrade." It often implies a loss of status, a decline in condition, or a moral fall. This can be a literal fall, as in falling down, or a figurative fall, like a moral lapse or a decline in quality.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ダ (da) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・お (o) - This is less commonly used.

⚫︎ 堕落 Translation: Degeneracy; corruption; fall; degradation. ⚫︎ 堕胎 Translation: Abortion. ⚫︎ 転落堕 Translation: A fall; a drop; a decline.

The kanji 堕 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The left side, 阝 (also known as 阜 or 阝), is a radical usually associated with terrain or hills (and sometimes can also mean "left side"). The right side is a phonetic component, 㕣 (pronounced as dan in some dialects), suggesting pronunciation while also contributing to the idea of falling. Together, the components suggest "to fall from a high place."