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下士 (xià shì) — (military) corporal; petty officer third class; (written, archaic) a fool; an ordinary person of low status

Definition

Modern military rank, equivalent to 'corporal' (army) or 'petty officer third class' (navy/marines). The sense meaning 'fool; person of low status' is archaic and appears only in classical texts.

noun
(military) corporalpetty officer third class(written, archaic) a foolan ordinary person of low status
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 下士。
    Tā dāng le liǎng nián de xià shì cái shēng wéi zhōng shì.
    He served as a corporal for two years before being promoted to sergeant.
  • ，下士。
    Zài gǔ dài wén xiàn zhōng, xià shì cháng yòng lái zhǐ dài yú bèn zhī rén.
    In ancient texts, xiàshì was often used to refer to foolish people.
  • 下士。
    Bù duì lǐ de xià shì fù zé dài lǐng yí gè xiǎo duì.
    The corporal in the army is responsible for leading a squad.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

下xiàlower
士shìsoldier/officer

下 (lower) and 士 (soldier/officer) form the lower soldier rank, i.e. corporal.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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