地下室 (dì xià shì) — basement, cellar

Definition

noun
basementcellar
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 地下室。
    Wǒ jiā de dì xià shì lǐ fàng le hěn duō jiù dōng xī.
    There are a lot of old things stored in my house's basement.
  • 地下室，，。
    Zhè ge dà lóu yǒu liǎng gè dì xià shì, yí gè tíng chē, yí gè chǔ wù.
    This building has two basements, one for parking and one for storage.
  • ，地下室。
    Dà yǔ zhī hòu, dì xià shì lǐ jìn le hěn duō shuǐ.
    After the heavy rain, a lot of water got into the basement.

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.

地下below ground
地dìground下xiàbelow
偏正Modifier + head
室shìroom

地下 means below the ground, and 室 means room, so together they mean a room below ground.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
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