低能 (dī néng) — mental deficiency; feeble-mindedness | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mental deficiencyfeeble-mindedness

Examples

低能。
Yī shēng zhěn duàn tā huàn yǒu qīng dù dī néng.
The doctor diagnosed him with mild mental deficiency.
低能。
Zhè zhǒng yào wù duì zhì liáo dī néng méi yǒu xiào guǒ.
This medication has no effect on treating mental deficiency.
低能。
Bú yào bǎ bié rén de quē diǎn shuō chéng dī néng.
Don't describe others' shortcomings as mental deficiency.

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.

能néngability

低 gives low and 能 gives ability, describing limited ability.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻氐低

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman, person

Sound part声符shēngfú

氐

氐dī低dī

Same sound today

In 低, the left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 氐 gives the sound; the image is a person lowering or bowing themselves.

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

能 is an old picture of a bear, showing two paws and a face with an open mouth.

Appears in

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