底
Meanings · dai2
- (verb) 1.deserve (something); (preposition) 2. under; 3. underneath
Meanings · dai2
- background
- bottom
- base
- end (of the month, year etc)
- remnants
- draft
- master copy
- negatives (of photograph)
- heart of the matter
- what
- a hundred thousand dollars worth of dead chips used in gambling
- a strategy
- a secret
- identity
- past record
- triad status
Meanings · dik1
- an alternative form for the word的, a possessive, adjectival suffix
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Same syllable, six tones
Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 底 de CC-CEDICT · Mandarin(equivalent to 的 as possessive particle)
- 底 dǐ CC-CEDICT · Mandarinbottom; base; background; foundation; copy (of a manuscript or receipt etc) kept as a record; (suffix) end of a year or month; (math.) radix; base (abbr. for 底數 dǐ shù)
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: di3. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 20 senses · 2 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
dai2 · dik1
Cantonese word readings for 底. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- bottom; underneath; underside
- ground; background
- ins and outs; actual situation
- master copy
- (Cantonese) copy kept as a record
- end (of a year or month)
- remnants; remains; leftovers
- (Southern Min) inside
- (mathematics) base (of triangle, logarithm, etc.)
- (Cantonese) staple food as the base of a meal
- (Cantonese, traditional Chinese medicine) physique; constitution (of a person)
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) tendency in one's personality; leaning
- (Cantonese) ground; foundation
- (Cantonese) background (of a person); criminal record
- (Cantonese) underpants (short for 底褲 /底裤 (dai² fu³)) (Classifier: 條／条 c)
- (Cantonese) Classifier for pastry made or served in flat-shaped container.
- (abbreviation, alt-of) short for 底細／底细 (dǐxì)
character · Etymology 2
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) possessive particle, equivalent to modern Mandarin 的 (de)
character · Etymology 3
- (literary or Min) which; what
character · Etymology 4
- (Hokkien) alternative form of 咧 (teh, “in the process of; currently”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack