下士

Chinese

		under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter	scholar; warrior; knight
simp. and trad. (下士)		下	士

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): xiàshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): xia⁴ si⁴

• Cantonese (Jyutping): haa⁶ si⁶
• Gan (Wiktionary): ha⁵ si⁵
• Jin (Wiktionary): xia³ si³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hǎ-sǐr / hā-sū / hēe-sū

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiàshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siàshìh
    • Wade–Giles: hsia⁴-shih⁴
    • Yale: syà-shr̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiahshyh
    • Palladius: сяши (sjaši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 下世 下士

  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: xia⁴ si⁴
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xias
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕia²¹³ sz̩²¹³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: haa⁶ si⁶
    • Yale: hah sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: haa⁶ si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ha⁶ xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haː²² siː²²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: ha⁵ si⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ha¹¹ sz̩¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: xia³ si³
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /ɕia⁴⁵ sz̩⁴⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hǎ-sǐr
    • Tâi-lô: hǎ-sǐr
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ha²² sɯ²²/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hā-sū
    • Tâi-lô: hā-sū
    • Phofsit Daibuun: haxsu
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ha³³⁻²¹ su³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ha²²⁻²¹ su²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ha³³⁻¹¹ su³³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hēe-sū
    • Tâi-lô: hēe-sū
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hɛ²²⁻²¹ su²²/

---

• Middle Chinese: haeX dzriX

Rime
Character	下	士
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)	崇 (20)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	胡雅切	鉏里切
Baxter	haeX	dzriX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠaX/	/d͡ʒɨX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚaX/	/ɖ͡ʐɨX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣaX/	/d͡ʒieX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦaɨX/	/ɖ͡ʐɨX/
Li Rong	/ɣaX/	/d͡ʒiəX/
Wang Li	/ɣaX/	/d͡ʒĭəX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣaX/	/ɖ͡ʐʱiX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xià	zhì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	haa6	zi6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ɡˤraʔ  [m-s-]rəʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡraːʔ  zrɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	下	士
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xià	shì
Middle Chinese	‹ hæX ›	‹ dzriX ›
Old Chinese	/*ɡˁraʔ/	/*[m-s-]rəʔ/
English	down	officer; gentleman
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	下	士
Reading #	1/2	1/1
No.	13445	11511
Phonetic component	下	士
Rime group	魚	之
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	下	士
Old Chinese	/*ɡraːʔ/	/*zrɯʔ/

Noun

下士

1. corporal (U.S. and British Army, British Air Force, U.S. and British Marine Corps)
2. petty officer third class (U.S. Navy)
3. petty officer second class (British Navy)
4. (archaic) person, especially a member of the educated social classes, who is of inferior standing, intelligence, or ethics

   • 下士聞道大笑之。不笑不足以為道。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     下士闻道大笑之。不笑不足以为道。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Tao Te Ching, 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Xiàshì wén dào dàxiào zhī. Bù xiào bùzúyǐ wéi dào. [Pinyin]

     Scholars of the lowest class, when they have heard about the Dao, laugh greatly at it. If it were not thus laughed at, it would not be fit to be the Dao.

Derived terms

• 門下士／门下士

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (下士):

• → Japanese: 下士(かし) (kashi)
• → Korean: 하사(下士) (hasa)
• → Vietnamese: hạ sĩ (下士)

Verb

下士

1. (xiangqi) to move an adviser (士) back one step diagonally

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 下士 (“(xiangqi) to move an adviser back one step”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		下士
Mandarin	Harbin	落士
	Yantai (Muping)	落士
	Jinan	落士
	Luoyang	下士, 落士
	Wanrong	落士
	Xi'an	下士, 落士
	Yinchuan	下士
	Xining	下士, 落士
	Ürümqi	下士, 落士
	Chengdu	下士, 落士
	Guiyang	下士, 落士
	Liuzhou	下士, 落士, 收士
	Xuzhou	下士, 落士
	Yangzhou	落士
	Nanjing	下士
Cantonese	Dongguan	落士
Gan	Nanchang	下士, 落士
	Lichuan	下士
	Pingxiang	下士
Huizhou	Jixi	落士
Jin	Taiyuan	下士, 落士
	Xinzhou	撐下士, 撐下士子
Northern Min	Jian'ou	落士
Southern Min	Leizhou	落士
	Haikou	落士
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	落士
Wu	Shanghai	落士
	Suzhou	落士
	Danyang	落士
	Hangzhou	落士
	Ningbo	落士
	Wenzhou	落士
Xiang	Changsha	下士, 收士

Antonyms

• 上士 (shàngshì)

Etymology 2

Literally, "to lower oneself to the level of the shi (low-ranking persons just above the commoners)". Typically refers to efforts of promoting or socialising with people without discrimination regarding social hierarchy.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiàshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˋ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiàshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siàshìh
    • Wade–Giles: hsia⁴-shih⁴
    • Yale: syà-shr̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiahshyh
    • Palladius: сяши (sjaši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 下世 下士

---

• Middle Chinese: haeH dzriX

Rime
Character	下	士
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)	崇 (20)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	胡駕切	鉏里切
Baxter	haeH	dzriX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠaH/	/d͡ʒɨX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚaH/	/ɖ͡ʐɨX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣaH/	/d͡ʒieX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦaɨH/	/ɖ͡ʐɨX/
Li Rong	/ɣaH/	/d͡ʒiəX/
Wang Li	/ɣaH/	/d͡ʒĭəX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣaH/	/ɖ͡ʐʱiX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	xià	zhì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	haa6	zi6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*m-ɡˤraʔ-s  [m-s-]rəʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡraːs  zrɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	下	士
Reading #	2/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xià	shì
Middle Chinese	‹ hæH ›	‹ dzriX ›
Old Chinese	/*m-ɡˁraʔ-s/	/*[m-s-]rəʔ/
English	descend	officer; gentleman
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	下	士
Reading #	2/2	1/1
No.	13446	11511
Phonetic component	下	士
Rime group	魚	之
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	暇	士
Old Chinese	/*ɡraːs/	/*zrɯʔ/

Verb

下士

1. (literary, obsolete, of a high-ranking individual) to display humility and respect towards lower-class persons

   • 公子為人仁而下士，士無賢不肖皆謙而禮交之，不敢以其富貴驕士。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     公子为人仁而下士，士无贤不肖皆谦而礼交之，不敢以其富贵骄士。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Gōngzǐ wéirén rén ér xiàshì, shì wú xián bùxiào jiē qiān ér lǐ jiāo zhī, bùgǎn yǐ qí fùguì jiāo shì. [Pinyin]

     The Prince is kind and treats the shi with respect. He deals with them with humility and the appropriate manners regardless of their standing or ability. He is especially careful not to behave patronizingly out of his own status and wealth.

Derived terms

• 屈身下士
• 折節下士／折节下士
• 招賢下士／招贤下士
• 推賢下士／推贤下士
• 求賢下士／求贤下士
• 知人下士
• 謙以下士／谦以下士
• 謙恭下士／谦恭下士
• 謙謙下士／谦谦下士
• 謙遜下士／谦逊下士

 

Japanese

Kanji in this term
下	士
か Grade: 1	し Grade: 5
on’yomi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠ɕi]

Noun

下(か)士(し) • (kashi) 

1. a person of poor upbringing and character
2. a low ranking samurai
3. (archaic) a non-commissioned officer

   Synonym: 下士官

See also

• 上(じょう)士(し) (jōshi)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
下	士

Noun

下士

1. chữ Hán form of hạ sĩ (“corporal”).