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井底 (jǐng de) — bottom of a well or mine shaft

Definition

Literally 'the bottom of a well or mine shaft' — used in the set phrase 井底之蛙 ('frog at the bottom of a well'), meaning someone with a narrow, limited view of the world.

noun
bottom of a well or mine shaft

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā jiù xiàng yì zhī jǐng de zhī wā, bù zhī dào wài miàn de shì jiè yǒu duō dà.
    He is like a frog at the bottom of a well, unaware of how big the outside world is.
  • 井底。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài qīng lǐ jǐng de de yū ní.
    The workers are cleaning the silt at the bottom of the well.
  • 井底，。
    Zhè ge kuàng jǐng de jǐng de hěn shēn, xū yào xiǎo xīn.
    The bottom of this mine shaft is very deep; need to be careful.

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.

井jǐngwell
底dǐbottom

井 gives well, and 底 gives bottom, making the bottom of a well.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 井 draws a square well with supports on four sides.

Open 井 →

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 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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