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地下 (dì xià) — (noun) underground, the area below ground level; (adjective) underground; subterranean; covert

Definition

地下 has two senses: literal 'underground, below the surface' (地下商场) and figurative 'covert, secret' (地下活动). The covert sense is similar to 隐蔽 but used mainly as a noun adjunct to describe things that operate in secret.

noun
undergroundthe area below ground level
adjective
undergroundsubterraneancovert

Examples

  • 地下，。
    dì xià Hěn liáng kuai, xià tiān kě yǐ zuò zài zhè lǐ xiū xi.
    It's cool underground; you can sit here and rest in the summer.
  • 地下。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu hěn duō dì xià shāng chǎng.
    This city has many underground shopping malls.
  • 地下。
    Zhè shì yí gè dì xià yán jiū xiàng mù.
    This is a covert research project.

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.

地dìground
下xiàbelow

地 refers to ground, 下 to below; together they mean below ground.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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 →
Appears in
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