低语 (dī yǔ) — murmur; aside (a quiet, private remark) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

murmuraside (a quiet, private remark)

Examples

低语，。
Tā zài wǔ tái shàng shuō le yí jù dī yǔ, guān zhòng dōu xiào le.
He said an aside on stage, and the audience laughed.
低语，。
Jiào shì lǐ chōng mǎn le xué shēng de dī yǔ, lǎo shī bù dé bù tí gāo shēng yīn.
The classroom was full of students' murmurs, and the teacher had to raise her voice.
低语。
Tā men zhī jiān de dī yǔ ràng wǒ jué de tā men zài tǎo lùn shén me mì mì.
The murmurs between them made me think they were discussing some secret.

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.

语yǔspeech

低 “low” describes 语 “speech”, giving a quiet murmur.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

言吾語

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

吾

吾wú語yǔ

Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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