低息 (dī xī) — low interest (rate) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

low interest (rate)

低息。
Zhè jiā yín háng tí gōng dī xī dài kuǎn.
This bank offers low-interest loans.
低息。
Zhèng fǔ chū tái le dī xī zhèng cè bāng zhù xiǎo qǐ yè.
The government introduced low-interest policies to help small businesses.
低息，。
Zài dī xī huán jìng xià, cún kuǎn lì xī hěn dī.
In a low-interest environment, deposit interest is very low.

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.

息xīinterest

低 (low) and 息 (interest) combine to mean a low interest rate.

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.

亻氐低

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman, person

Sound part声符shēngfú

氐

氐dī低dī

Same sound today

In 低, the left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 氐 gives the sound; the image is a person lowering or bowing themselves.

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

自心息

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.