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低级 (dī jí) — low-level, elementary, rudimentary; vulgar, crude, inferior (in taste or quality)

Definition

低级 covers both 'low-level / rudimentary' (skill, quality) and 'vulgar / crude' (taste, behavior). Unlike 高级, which signals skill or rank, 低级 often carries a moral or quality judgment — 'shoddy' or 'tasteless', not just 'simple'.

adjective
low-levelelementaryrudimentaryvulgarcrudeinferior (in taste or quality)

Examples

  • 低级，。
    Zhè ge cuò wù tài dī jí le, bú yīng gāi fàn.
    This mistake is too basic; you shouldn't have made it.
  • 低级，。
    Tā kāi de wán xiào hěn dī jí, ràng rén bù shū fu.
    The jokes he tells are vulgar and make people uncomfortable.
  • 低级。
    Zhè zhǒng dī jí cái liào zuò chéng de jiā jù yòng bù liǎo duō jiǔ.
    Furniture made from this inferior material won't last long.

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.

低dīlow
级jílevel

低 low and 级 level combine to mean low-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.

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.

Open 低 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
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