ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

地下 dìxià underground

underground; subterranean; covert

How to remember 地下: 地 ground + 下 down = underground.

  • HSK 5
  • Word

Characters

How it is used

  • 地下 (dìxià) literally means underground/subterranean: 地下室 (dìxiàshì, basement), 地下车库 (underground garage).
  • It also has a figurative sense of "covert/clandestine": 地下工作 (dìxià gōngzuò, underground/secret work), 地下组织 (underground organization).
  • In some regions, especially Taiwan and southern speech, 地下 is used colloquially to mean simply "on the ground/floor" (东西掉在地下了 - it fell on the ground), overlapping with 地上 elsewhere in the Mandarin-speaking world.
  • Contrast with 地面 (dìmiàn, ground surface) - 地下 specifically stresses being below or beneath a surface.