班底 (bān dǐ) — core members; backbone (of a theatrical troupe, organization, or team)

Definition

班底 refers to the core members or backbone of a group, team, or organization — the people who form its stable, inner circle. In the theater sense, it's the regular cast of a troupe.

noun
core membersbackbone (of a theatrical troupe, organization, or team)

Examples

  • 班底。
    Zhè ge jù tuán de lǎo bān dǐ dōu shì jīng yàn fēng fù de yǎn yuán.
    The old core members of this troupe are all experienced actors.
  • ，班底。
    Xīn lǐng dǎo shàng rèn hòu, xùn sù zǔ jiàn le zì jǐ de bān dǐ.
    After taking office, the new leader quickly formed his own core team.
  • 班底，。
    Tā zuò wéi gōng sī de bān dǐ zhī yī, cān yù le suǒ yǒu zhòng dà jué cè.
    As one of the company's core members, he participated in all major decisions.

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.

班bāntroupe
底dǐbase

班 is the troupe or team, and 底 is its base, giving the core members.

Characters in this word

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

  • 珏珏juépieces of jade
  • 刀刀dāoknife

班 shows 珏, pieces of jade, and 刀, a knife, cutting them into pieces.

Open 班 →

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 →

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