TongTong
Sign in

谷底 (gǔ dǐ) — valley floor; (figurative) lowest point, nadir

Definition

noun
valley floor(figurative) lowest pointnadir

Examples

  • 谷底。
    Zhè tiáo hé cóng gǔ dǐ liú guò.
    This river flows through the valley floor.
  • 谷底。
    Gōng sī de yè jì diē dào le gǔ dǐ.
    The company's performance fell to rock bottom.
  • 谷底。
    Tā de xīn qíng jiàng dào le gǔ dǐ.
    His mood dropped to rock bottom.

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.

谷gǔvalley
底dǐbottom

谷 gives valley, and 底 gives its lowest part.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 谷 comes from a picture of a valley: an opening between two near-parallel lines for mountain walls.

Open 谷 →

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 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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