Stroke order

底 (Kangxi radical 53, 广+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 戈竹心一 (IHPM) or 戈竹女戈 (IHVI), four-corner 0024₂, composition ⿸广氐)

• 掋, 鯳, 菧

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 344, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9262
• Dae Jaweon: page 653, character 28
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 878, character 4
• Unihan data for U+5E95

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *tiːlʔ): semantic 广 (“building”) + phonetic 氐 (OC *tiːl, *til) – the bottom or base, foundation of a building. Note that 氐, according to one interpretation, is a figure bowing or the root of a tree, hence a connotation of "down"; if the interpretation is correct, the phonetic component also adds part of the meaning.

Cognate with 低 (OC *tiːl, “to lower; low”), 柢 (OC *tiːl, *tiːlʔ, *tiːls, “root of a tree; base”).

底

1. bottom; underneath; underside
2. ground; background
3. ins and outs; actual situation
4. master copy
5. (Cantonese) copy kept as a record

   留底 [Cantonese]  ―  lau⁴ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  to keep a copy

6. end (of a year or month)

   See also: 年底, 月底

   六月底 [Cantonese]  ―  luk⁶ jyut⁶ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  end of June

7. remnants; remains; leftovers
8. (Southern Min) inside

   糜底 [Teochew]  ―  in the congee

9. (mathematics) base (of triangle, logarithm, etc.)
10. (Cantonese) staple food as the base of a meal

    伊麵底／伊面底 [Cantonese]  ―  ji¹ min⁶ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  e-fu noodles as the base (e.g., for lobster)

    加底 [Cantonese]  ―  gaa¹ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  to add rice in a meal

11. (Cantonese, traditional Chinese medicine) physique; constitution (of a person)

    寒底 [Cantonese]  ―  hon⁴ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

12. (Hong Kong Cantonese) tendency in one's personality; leaning

    燥底 [Cantonese]  ―  cou³ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  having a bad temper

    紅底／红底 [Cantonese]  ―  hung⁴ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  having pro-CCP leanings

    M底 [Cantonese]  ―  em¹ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  having a masochistic side

    • 2023, 6:26 from the start, in 你好，我的大夫 [Let Me Take Your Pulse]‎^[1], episode 21, spoken by 張鐫祺 [Hunter Cheung] (許俊豪 [Lincoln Hui]):

      噉我嗰陣自卑底，受人恩惠都唔好意思講多謝 [Cantonese, trad.]
      噉我嗰阵自卑底，受人恩惠都唔好意思讲多谢 [Cantonese, simp.]

      gam² ngo⁵ go² zan⁶ zi⁶ bei¹ dai², sau⁶ jan⁴ jan¹ wai⁶ dou¹ m⁴ hou² ji³ si³ gong² do¹ ze⁶ [Jyutping]

      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

13. (Cantonese) ground; foundation

    我數底好差。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    我数底好差。 [Cantonese, simp.]

    ngo⁵ sou³ dai² hou² caa¹. [Jyutping]

    My foundation of math is very poor.

14. (Cantonese) background (of a person); criminal record

    佢個底花嗮。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢个底花嗮。 [Cantonese, simp.]

    keoi⁵ go³ dai² faa¹ saai³. [Jyutping]

    His criminal record is all dirty and messy.

15. (Cantonese) underpants (short for 底褲 / 底裤 (dai² fu³)) (Classifier: 條／条 c)

    紅底／红底 [Cantonese]  ―  hung⁴ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  red underpants

    露底 [Cantonese]  ―  lou⁶ dai² [Jyutping]  ―  to expose one's underpants

16. (Cantonese) Classifier for pastry made or served in flat-shaped container.

    半底雞蛋仔／半底鸡蛋仔 [Cantonese]  ―  bun³ dai² gai¹ daan⁶ zai² [Jyutping]  ―  a half-disc of egg waffle

    過年整咗一底蘿蔔糕同一底年糕。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    过年整咗一底萝卜糕同一底年糕。 [Cantonese, simp.]

    gwo³ nin⁴ zing² zo² jat¹ dai² lo⁴ baak⁶ gou¹ tung⁴ jat¹ dai² nin⁴ gou¹. [Jyutping]

    During the Chinese New Year (I) made a slab of turnip cake and a slab of rice cake.

17. short for 底細／底细 (dǐxì)

底

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) possessive particle, equivalent to modern Mandarin 的 (de)

From 等 (MC tojX), probably a clipping or influenced by 何等 (OC *ɡaːl tɯːʔ/tɯːŋʔ).

底

1. (literary or Min) which; what

   • 陶冶性靈存底物？新詩改罷自長吟。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     陶冶性灵存底物？新诗改罢自长吟。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: 杜甫《解悶之七》

     Táoyě xìnglíng cún dǐ wù? Xīn shī gǎi bà zì cháng yín. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 底事昆侖傾砥柱，九地黃流亂注？ [Ci, trad.]
     底事昆仑倾砥柱，九地黄流乱注？ [Ci, simp.]

     From: circa 1142, 張元幹,《賀新郎·送胡邦衡待制赴新州》, translated by Xu Yuanchong

     Dǐ shì Kūnlún qīng Dǐzhù, jiǔ dì Huáng liú luàn zhù? [Pinyin]

     How could Mount Pillar suddenly fall down? And Yellow River flow throughout the town?

底

1. (Hokkien) alternative form of 咧 (teh, “in the process of; currently”)
   • 2024, “過路客”, in 蔡宜霖 (lyrics), 楊子兆 (music), 青花姐仔, performed by 黃妃 [Huang Fei]:

     啊　我的心　若底落雪 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad. and simp.]

     ah, góa ê sim, ná teh lo̍h-seh [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     Oh, my heart is like it's snowing

• “底”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

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

• Go-on: たい (tai)
• Kan-on: てい (tei, Jōyō)
• Kun: そこ (soko, 底, Jōyō)、なんぞ (nanzo)
• Nanori: いたる (itaru)

• (Tokyo) そこ [sòkó] (Heiban – [0])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [so̞ko̞]

底(そこ) • (soko) 

1. the bottom

   底(そこ)に沈(しず)む

   soko ni shizumu

   sink to the bottom

• 頂(いただき) (itadaki, “top”)

• 二(に)重(じゅう)底(ぞこ) (nijūzoko, “double sole; double bottom”)

From Middle Chinese 底 (tej^X).

• (Tokyo) てー [téꜜè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [te̞ː]

底(てい) • (tei) 

1. base of a logarithm

• “底”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[3] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025

底 • (jeo, ji) (hangeul 저, 지, revised jeo, ji, McCune–Reischauer chŏ, chi)

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

底: Hán Việt readings: để^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}
底: Nôm readings: đáy^[1][2][3][7], để^[1][4][6][7], đé^[3][5][6], đẽ^[2][3], dẻ^[1], đẻ^[1], đây^[2], đẩy^[7]

1. chữ Nôm form of dẻ (“chestnut”)
2. chữ Nôm form of đáy (“bottom”)
3. chữ Nôm form of đẻ (“to give birth to”)
4. chữ Nôm form of để (“to place; to set; to leave”)