TongTong
Sign in

劣等 (liè děng) — low-grade, inferior, poor in quality

Definition

Literary/written adjective meaning 'low-grade, inferior' — more formal and forceful than everyday 低级 or 差, and commonly used to judge products, grades, or quality as a category.

adjective
low-gradeinferiorpoor in quality

Examples

  • 劣等。
    Zhè xiē liè děng chǎn pǐn hěn kuài jiù bèi shì chǎng táo tài le.
    These inferior products were quickly eliminated from the market.
  • 劣等。
    Tā yīn wèi chéng jì liè děng bèi xué xiào quàn tuì le.
    He was advised to withdraw from school because of poor grades.
  • 劣等，。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng yòng de shí cái dōu shì liè děng de, nán guài méi rén lái.
    The ingredients used in this restaurant are all low-grade; no wonder no one comes.

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.

劣lièinferior
等děnggrade

劣 means 'inferior' and 等 means 'grade', giving the sense of a low or poor grade.

Characters in this word

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

劣 combines 少 (little/less) with 力 (strength), showing less strength, hence bad or inferior.

Open 劣 →

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
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.

Open 等 →
Appears in
Good & Bad

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.