矮 (ǎi): (of a person) short, (of a wall etc) low, (of rank) inferior (to), lower (than)
矮 (ǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “(of a person) short.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 矢 (semantic) and 委 (phonetic). It ranks #1997 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 矮 dart. Its radical form 矢 (arrow) appears in many related characters such as 短 (duǎn, short), 矢 (shǐ, arrow), 矣 (yǐ, classical final particle, similar to modern 了).
Definitions
- (of a person) short
- (of a wall etc) low
- (of rank) inferior (to)
- lower (than)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 矮 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 矮子noun | ǎi zi | short person |
| 矮小adjective | ǎi xiǎo | short and small |
| 矮胖adjective | ǎi pàng | short and stout |
| 白矮星noun | bái ǎi xīng | white dwarf |
| 矮个儿noun | ǎi gè r | a person of short stature |
| 低矮adjective | dī ǎi | short |
| 矮子里拔将军phrase | ǎi zi li bá jiāng jūn | lit. choose a general from among the dwarfs |
| 矮黑人noun | ǎi hēi rén | Negrito |
| 矮行星noun | ǎi xíng xīng | dwarf planet |
| 矮脚白花蛇利草noun | ǎi jiǎo bái huā shé lì cǎo | see 白花蛇舌草 |
| 矮人noun | ǎi rén | dwarf |
| 黑矮星noun | hēi ǎi xīng | black dwarf star |
| 红矮星noun | hóng ǎi xīng | red dwarf star |
| 高矮noun | gāo ǎi | height (i.e. whether short or tall) |
| 矮杆品种 | ǎi gǎn pǐn zhǒng | short-stalked variety |
矮 appears in 38 compound words: 79 as the first character, 5 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 矮 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
学习矮字需要反复练习,才能写得工整。
xué xí ǎi zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the stroke order for the character "矮" requires repeated practice to achieve neat handwriting.
港口、高架桥、低矮住宅区和摩天楼彼此相连,远处依然保留着清晰的建筑轮廓。
gǎng kǒu , gāo jià qiáo , dī ǎi zhù zhái qū hé mó tiān lóu bǐ cǐ xiāng lián , yuǎn chǔ yī rán bǎo liú zhe qīng xī de jiàn zhù lún kuò .
Ports, overpasses, low-rise residential areas, and skyscrapers are all interconnected, and the clear outlines of the buildings remain visible in the distance.
在广袤的异世界,曾经流传着这样一个笑话: 为什么出名的矮人学者比人类和精灵族学者多?
zài guǎng 袤 de yì shì jiè , céng jīng liú chuán zhe zhè yàng yī gè xiào huà : wéi shén má chū míng de ǎi rén xué zhě bǐ rén lèi hé jīng líng zú xué zhě duō ?
In a vast, fantastical world, there was once a joke that went like this: Why are there more famous dwarf scholars than human or elven scholars?
在矮轴键盘上谈“手感”似乎有些奇怪。
zài ǎi zhóu jiàn pán shàng tán shǒu gǎn sì hū yǒu xiē qí guài .
It seems a bit odd to talk about "key feel" on a low-profile keyboard.
“阳光女子合唱团”遭中国矮化争议 金马影帝张震这样说
yáng guāng nǚ zǐ gě chàng tuán zāo zhōng guó ǎi huà zhēng yì jīn mǎ yǐng dì zhāng zhèn zhè yàng shuō
"Sunshine Girls Choir" Faces Controversy Over Alleged Demeaning Treatment by China; Golden Horse Award-Winning Actor Chang Chen Weighs In
继南韩、丹麦 喀麦隆也矮化台湾 我缺席WTO反制网友嘘爆
jì nán hán , dān mài 喀 mài lóng yě ǎi huà tái wān wǒ quē xí W T O fǎn zhì wǎng yǒu 嘘 bào
Following South Korea and Denmark, Cameroon has also downplayed Taiwan’s status; my absence from the WTO meeting sparked a backlash from netizens
矮人们是伟大的铁匠。
ǎirénmen shì wěidà de tiějiang.
The dwarves are great smiths.
我哥哥虽然矮小可是很强壮。
Wǒ gēge suīrán ǎixiǎo kěshì hěn qiángzhuàng.
My brother is small but strong.
我知道汤姆比我矮很多。
Wǒ zhīdào Tāngmǔ bǐ wǒ ǎi hěn duō.
I know Tom is a lot shorter than I am.
我把他叫做「矮子」,他就气得不得了。
Wǒ bǎ tā jiàozuò 「 ǎizi 」, tā jiù qì de bù déliǎo.
He got mad at me for calling him Shorty.
Character Family
矢 Radical Family — Characters sharing the arrow radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 矮 (ǎi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 矮 and 第?
How many strokes does 矮 have?
What is the radical of 矮?
What are the components of 矮?
What are common words containing 矮?
What characters sound the same as 矮 (ǎi)?
Is 矮 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 矮 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.