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天底下 (tiān dǐ xià) — in the world; on earth

Definition

A colloquial set phrase meaning 'in the world / on earth', used to emphasize that something is the most, the only, or the most extreme of its kind. Often paired with superlatives or 居然 to express surprise.

noun
in the worldon earth

Examples

  • 天底下。
    tiān dǐ xià Méi yǒu bú sàn de yàn xí.
    There is no feast that doesn't end in the world.
  • 天底下？
    tiān dǐ xià Hái yǒu bǐ zhè gèng qí guài de shì ma?
    Is there anything stranger than this in the world?
  • 天底下！
    tiān dǐ xià Jū rán yǒu zhè zhǒng rén!
    There are actually people like this in the world!

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.

天tiānsky
底下underside
底dǐbottom下xiàbelow
联合Coordinate

The “天” (sky) is the area whose “底下” (bottom below) is meant, yielding 'on earth'.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →

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 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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