底牌 (dǐ pái) — one's hand (in a card game); one's hidden resou…

Definition

底牌 literally means 'the cards in your hand' but is used figuratively for a hidden advantage, secret plan, or last resort. 亮出底牌 means 'to reveal one's hand/trump card.'

noun

one's hand (in a card game)one's hidden resources or trump card

Measure word · 张

Examples

底牌。
Tā liàng chū le dǐ pái.
He revealed his hand.
底牌。
Wǒ men bù zhī dào duì fāng dǐ pái.
We don't know the other side's hand.
底牌。
Zhè shì tā de zuì hòu yì zhāng dǐ pái.
This is his last trump card.

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.

底dǐbottom

牌páicard

底 points to what is hidden or at the bottom, and 牌 are cards; together they mean one's hidden cards.

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.

广氐底

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 →

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

片卑牌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

片片piàn

Sound part声符shēngfú

卑

卑bēi牌pái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

Open 牌 →

Appears in