Definition
贬低 (biǎn dī) means to actively belittle or disparage, carrying a deliberate intent to diminish. It is stronger and more negative than 低估 (dī gū) 'underestimate' (a miscalculation) and distinct from 淡化 (dàn huà) 'downplay' (reducing importance without attacking).
verb
to belittleto disparageto demeanto play down
Easily confused
- 遍地biàn dìsound-alike(verb) to be everywhere; to cover the ground (often used with 都是 or a noun phrase)
Examples
- 贬低。Tā zǒng shì zài gōngkāi chǎnghé biǎn dī jìngzhēng duìshǒu de chǎnpǐn.He always belittles his competitors' products in public.
- 贬低。Nǐ bùnéng yīnwèi yí cì shībài jiù biǎn dī zìjǐ de nénglì.You can't belittle your own abilities just because of one failure.
- 贬低。Zhēnzhèng de lǐngdǎozhě cóng bù tōngguò biǎn dī xiàshǔ lái shùlì wēixìn.A true leader never establishes authority by belittling subordinates.
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