平底 (píng de) — flat bottom; flat-soled (of shoes); flat-bottomed (of cookware)

Definition

Used as an attributive before nouns like 鞋 (shoes) or 锅 (pan) to mean 'flat-bottomed' or 'flat-soled', with no heel. Contrast with 高跟 (high-heeled) in 鞋 contexts.

noun
flat bottomflat-soled (of shoes)flat-bottomed (of cookware)

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè shuāng píng de xié chuān zhuó hěn shū fu.
    This pair of flat shoes is very comfortable to wear.
  • 。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè píng de guō lái jiān jī dàn.
    I bought a flat-bottomed pan to fry eggs.
  • ，。
    Gāo gēn xié chuān lèi le, hái shì píng de xié hǎo.
    High heels are tiring to wear; flat shoes are better.

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.

平píngflat
底dǐbottom

平 (flat) + 底 (bottom): flat bottom.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

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