Chinese word

地下

Pronunciation

Pinyindì xià

Meaning

  • nounbasement

Example

商场的地下有超市。shāng chǎng de dì xià yǒu chāo shì

There is a supermarket in the basement of the mall.

Illustration for 地下 (basement)

More examples

公寓的地下是停车场。gōng yù de dì xià shì tíng chē chǎng

The basement of the apartment building is a parking lot.

Core concept

The hidden side of the ground: a space below the surface that may hold rooms, passages, or natural cavities.

Common phrases

  • 地下室dì xià shì

    basement

  • 地下停车场dì xià tíng chē chǎng

    underground parking lot

  • 地下商场dì xià shāng chǎng

    underground shopping mall

  • 地下通道dì xià tōng dào

    underground passage

Similar words

地下室dì xià shì: A room or space beneath a building, used for living, storage, or other purposes.
地铁dì tiě: An urban public train or rail system that runs underground.
地下道dì xià dào: A passage built beneath a road or railway for people or vehicles to pass through.

Definition in Chinese

地下指位于地表之下的区域，既可指人工的地下空间（如地下室、地铁通道），也可指自然的地表下层或洞穴所在的部分。dì xià zhǐ wèi yú dì biǎo zhī xià de qū yù jì kě zhǐ rén gōng de dì xià kōng jiān rú dì xià shì dì tiě tōng dào yě kě zhǐ zì rán de dì biǎo xià céng huò dòng xué suǒ zài de bù fèn

Word origin

地下 (dìxià, "underground") combines 地 (dì, "ground") with 下 (xià, "below"), making its meaning easy to connect with anything located under the surface.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often connect this idea only with a building, but Chinese uses it more broadly for below-ground locations in ordinary location statements.

Other meanings

  • undergroundnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word