低

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

低 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人竹心一 (OHPM) or 人竹女戈 (OHVI), four-corner 2224₀, composition ⿰亻氐)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 98, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 504
• Dae Jaweon: page 207, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 137, character 4
• Unihan data for U+4F4E

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 低
Small seal script s05919
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *tiːl) : semantic 亻 (“man, person”) + phonetic 氐 (OC *tiːl, *til) – a person lowering themselves, bowing.

Etymology 1

Cognate with 底 (OC *tiːlʔ, “bottom”), 柢 (OC *tiːl, *tiːlʔ, *tiːls, “root of a tree; base”), Tibetan མཐིལ (mthil, “bottom; floor”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Definitions

低

1. low (of height)
2. low (of quantity); behind average

   他們抱怨工資過低。 [MSC, trad.]
   他们抱怨工资过低。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tāmen bàoyuàn gōngzī guò dī.

   They complained that the wages were too low.

   低糖的高纖豆漿／低糖的高纤豆浆  ―  dī táng de gāo xiān dòujiāng  ―  Low Sugar, High Fiber Soy Milk

3. low (of voice); quiet; soft
4. (Cantonese) down (adverb)

   寫低／写低 [Cantonese]  ―  se² dai¹   ―  to write down

5. (dialectal Mandarin, Jin) short (in stature)
6. to lower; to hang (one's head); to bend; to bow

Synonyms

Compounds

See also

• 矮 (ǎi)
• 短 (duǎn)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Definitions

低

1. (Southern Min) Alternative form of 下 (“low”)

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. low
2. short
3. humble

Readings

• Go-on: たい (tai)
• Kan-on: てい (tei, Jōyō)
• Kun: ひくい (hikui, 低い, Jōyō); ひくまる (hikumaru, 低まる, Jōyō); ひくめる (hikumeru, 低める, Jōyō)

Korean

Hanja

低 (eumhun 낮을 저 (najeul jeo))

1. Hanja form^? of 저 (“low”).
2. Hanja form^? of 저 (“cheap”).

Compounds

• 저렴 (低廉, jeoryeom, “cheap”)
• 저속 (低速, jeosok, “slow”)

Tày

Adjective

低 (đây)

1. Nôm form of đây (“good, beautiful”).

Vietnamese

Han character

低: Hán Nôm readings: đây, đay, đê

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation