地下 dìxià underground
underground; subterranean; covert
怎么记住“地下”: 地 ground + 下 down = underground.
汉字
用法
- 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.