底层

底層

dǐcéng

noun HSK 7 #11,752

Meanings

1 ground floor; bottom level
2 grassroots; the lowest social class
3 underlying; low-level (technical)

Characters

layer; floor; story

Literally 'bottom layer' — the lowest floor of a building, the lowest rung of society, or the foundational layer of a system.

Examples

底层人民的生活需要更多关注。

Dǐcéng rénmín de shēnghuó xūyào gèng duō guānzhù.

The lives of people at the bottom of society need more attention.

这个应用的底层代码需要重写。

Zhège yìngyòng de dǐcéng dàimǎ xūyào chóngxiě.

The underlying code of this application needs to be rewritten.

Tips

usage

底层 has three distinct uses: physical (bottom floor), social (lower class), and technical (low-level code/infrastructure). In tech, 底层技术 means foundational/low-level technology. In social commentary, 底层 is frank and somewhat blunt — more neutral alternatives include 基层 (grassroots).

Stroke Order

底 dǐ

层 céng