门下 (mén xià) — hanger-on of an aristocrat; retainer; disciple;…

Definition

Literary/classical term for a disciple or retainer of a master or powerful figure — written in tone, not used in everyday speech.

noun

hanger-on of an aristocratretainerdisciplefollower (of a master)

门下。
Tā céng jīng shì nà wèi quán guì de mén xià.
He was once a hanger-on of that powerful aristocrat.
门下。
Kǒng zǐ de mén xià zhōng yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de xué zhě.
Among Confucius's disciples there were many famous scholars.
，门下。
Zài gǔ dài, xǔ duō wén rén tóu kào guì zú zuò mén xià.
In ancient times, many literati attached themselves to nobles as retainers.

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.

门 names the gate and 下 names below, giving the sense of a follower under a master's 门.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in