(dī) - low, to lower in Mandarin
dīTraditional: 低
Translation
low, to lower
Word origin
A phono-semantic character built from 亻(person) beside 氐 (dī), which supplies the sound and the sense of a base or bottom.
- Origin
- phonetic
- Root
- 亻(person) + 氐 (dī, base, phonetic)
Stroke order
低
Examples
低。
House prices here are fairly low.
低。
He came in with his head down.
低。
Please turn the volume down a bit.
温低。
The temperature is very low today.
绩低。
Her marks are lower than last year.
低 (dī) is the opposite of 高 (gāo) and covers everything English calls low: a low price, a low temperature, a low voice, a low mark. It is the default adjective for anything measured on a scale that can go up or down.
It also works as a verb meaning to lower, most often 低头 (dī tóu, to lower the head), which carries the same shading as in English: shame, deference, or simply looking at your phone. 放低 (fàng dī) is the everyday way to say turn it down.
The trap is height. A short person is 矮 (ǎi), never 低. 低 measures a level or a position, so a low shelf is 低 but a short man is 矮. Get that wrong and you have said something fairly rude about where he stands.
Where this fits
Used in
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低: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "低" (low, to lower): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 45.