低等 (dī děng) — low-level; low-ranking; humble

Definition

adjective

low-levellow-rankinghumble

低等，。
Tā chū shēn yú dī děng jiā tíng, dàn kào nǔ lì chéng gōng le.
He came from a humble family but succeeded through hard work.
，低等。
Zài shēng wù xué zhōng, dī děng dòng wù tōng cháng jié gòu bǐ jiào jiǎn dān.
In biology, lower animals usually have simpler structures.
低等，。
Zhè zhǒng chǎn pǐn shǔ yú dī děng dàng cì, jià gé hěn pián yi.
This product belongs to the low-end tier, and the price is very cheap.

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.

The sense of 低 low with 等 grade gives a lower or humble level.

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.

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

竹寺等

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì等děng

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

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.