低 (dī): low, beneath, to lower (one's head)
低 (dī) is a Chinese character meaning “low.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 氐 (phonetic). It ranks #592 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 低 is a compound character. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- low
- beneath
- to lower (one's head)
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticThis character is a compound form.
Decomposition: ⿰亻氐 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 低 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 低
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 降低verb | jiàng dī | to reduce | 4 |
| 低头verb | dī tóu | to bow the head | 5 |
| 低于verb | dī yú | to be lower than | 4 |
| 低温noun | dī wēn | low temperature | 4 |
| 低价noun | dī jià | low price | 4 |
| 低碳adjective | dī tàn | (attributive) low-carbon | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 低调noun | dī diào | low pitch |
| 低估verb | dī gū | to underestimate |
| 低级adjective | dī jí | low level |
| 低落verb | dī luò | downcast |
| 低下adjective | dī xià | low status |
| 贬低verb | biǎn dī | to belittle |
| 低音noun | dī yīn | bass |
| 低声noun | dī shēng | in a low voice |
| 低俗adjective | dī sú | vulgar |
| 低谷noun | dī gǔ | valley |
| 低能adjective | dī néng | incapable |
| 低潮noun | dī cháo | low tide |
| 低能儿noun | dī néng ér | retarded child |
| 低语verb | dī yǔ | mutter |
| 压低verb | yā dī | to lower (one's voice) |
低 appears in 101 compound words: 79 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 8 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 低 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
to have high standards but little ability; to be fastidious but incompetent (idiom)
Example Sentences
那个低影在月光下显得格外孤独。
nā gě dī yǐng zài yuè guāng xià xiǎn dé gé wài gū dú .
That low shadow appeared especially lonely in the moonlight.
...便后甩一甩能预防包皮垢吗?减少尿液残留降低刺激吗
. . . biàn hòu shuǎi yī shuǎi néng yù fáng bāo pí 垢 ma ? jiǎn shǎo niào yè cán liú jiàng dī cì jī ma
... Can a post-poop shake prevent smegma? Reduces urine residue and reduces irritation
低糖食品有哪些?糖尿病患者和减肥人群需求不...
dī táng shí pǐn yǒu nǎ xiē ? táng niào bìng huàn zhě hé jiǎn féi rén qún xū qiú bù . . .
What are the low-sugar foods? Diabetics and people who are losing weight do not need to...
阿里云编程套餐月费最低7.9元
ā lǐ yún biān chéng tào cān yuè fèi zuì dī 7 . 9 yuán
Alibaba Cloud programming package has a minimum monthly fee of 7.9 yuan
...al自InvestingPro于4月标记低估以来飙升71%
. . . a l zì I n v e s t i n g P r o yú 4 yuè biāo jì dī gū yǐ lái biāo shēng 7 1
... al has surged 71% since InvestingPro marked undervaluation in April
收音机太响了。你不能把音量调低一点吗？
Shōuyīnjī tài xiǎng le. Nǐ bù néng bǎ yīnliàng tiáo dī yīdiǎn ma?
The radio is too loud. Can't you turn it down a little?
你会讲低地德语吗？
Nǐ huì jiǎng dīdì Déyǔ ma?
Can you speak Low German?
请问乔治亚洲的最低工资是多少？
Qǐngwèn Qiáozhìyà Zhōu de zuì dī gōngzī shì duōshao?
What is the minimum wage in Georgia?
温度计往往低于零度。
Wēndùjì wǎngwǎng dīyú língdù.
Thermometers often go below zero.
这个工作需要不低于300美金。
Zhège gōngzuò xūyào bù dīyú sān bǎi Měijīn.
No less than three hundred dollars was needed for the work.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 低 (dī) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 低 and 第?
How many strokes does 低 have?
What is the radical of 低?
What are the components of 低?
What are common words containing 低?
What characters sound the same as 低 (dī)?
Is 低 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 低 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.