Meaning of 底下
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the location below sth
- afterwards
How to use 底下
底下 usually follows a noun to say something is under it, much like 下面 (xiàmian). It also appears in phrases like 私底下 (sīdǐxia, in private). Example: 猫在桌子底下。(Māo zài zhuōzi dǐxia.) The cat is under the table.
底 (dǐ) means bottom or base, and 下 (xià) means below. Put the bottom and below together and you get the space underneath something.
Common mistake: Learners often read 下 here with a full fourth tone, but in 底下 it is usually light and neutral: dǐxia. Also, 底 is easy to confuse with 低 (dī, low). 低 has the person radical 亻 and is an adjective, not a location word.
底下 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
底 dǐ · bottom · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
下 xià · down · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 底下.
| 坐下 | zuò xia | to sit down |
| 下次 | xià cì | next time |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon; p.m. |
| 下车 | xià chē | to get off or out of (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 楼下 | lóu xià | downstairs |
| 下班 | xiàbān | to finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc) |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 下课 | xiàkè | to finish class; to get out of class |
| 下边 | xiàbian | under; the underside |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 留下 | liúxia | to leave behind; to stay behind |
| 放下 | fàngxia | to lay down; to put down; to let go of; to relinquish; to set aside |
Questions about 底下
What does 底下 mean?
底下 (dǐxia) means "the location below sth; afterwards" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 底下?
底下 is made of 2 characters: 底 (8 strokes), 下 (3 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 底下 an HSK word?
Yes. 底下 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 底下 and 下面?
Both can mean under or below, and they often swap freely after a noun, as in 床底下 or 床下面. 下面 is more general and can also mean next or following, as in 下面我们讲… (Next, we will talk about…). 底下 stresses being right underneath and sounds a bit more colloquial.
How is 底下 used to mean afterwards or below in a text?
In speech it can mean what comes next, as in 底下的事我来办 (dǐxia de shì wǒ lái bàn, I will handle what comes after). It can also refer to people at a lower level, like 他底下有十个人 (he has ten people under him).