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底子 (dǐ zi) — foundation, base; bottom (of a container or object)

Definition

底子 covers two senses: a 'base/foundation' (e.g. skills, ground under something — overlap with 基础, 根基) and a physical 'bottom' of a container (similar to 底, but 底 is also a standalone word for bottoms of shoes, periods, etc.).

noun
foundationbasebottom (of a container or object)

Examples

  • 底子。
    Tā xué xí zhōng wén de dǐ zi hěn hǎo.
    He has a good foundation in learning Chinese.
  • 底子。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi de dǐ zi tài báo le.
    The bottom of this box is too thin.
  • 底子。
    Fáng zi de dǐ zi yào yòng hǎo cái liào.
    The house's foundation should use good materials.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

底dǐbottom
子zǐthing

底 gives the bottom or base, and 子 completes the name for a foundation or bottom.

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
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'.

Open 底 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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