賎 (jiàn) - Lowly, cheap, base, humble & refers to something of low value, status, or

賎Tone 4

jiàn ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

健傑

賎 · jiàn

Lowly, cheap, base, humble;

refers to something of low value, status, or quality;

also used to describe despicable behavior or character.

Lowly, cheap, base, humblerefers to something of low value, status, oralso used to describe despicable behavior or character.

Usage highlights

lowly/commonercheap goodsbase/despicable actionlowly occupationhumble/lowly personto despise/look down on

Synonyms

  • 卑— low, inferior
  • 鄙— lowly, vulgar
  • 賤— variant form with same meaning

Antonyms

  • 貴— noble, precious
  • 尊— honorable, respected
  • 高— high, elevated

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He despises cheap goods (賎貨).
  • She comes from a humble background (賎民).
  • That was a base action (賎行).
  • Don't sell yourself short (自賎).

Collocations

  • lowly/commoner(賎民)
  • cheap goods(賎貨)
  • base/despicable action(賎行)
  • lowly occupation(賎業)
  • humble/lowly person(賎人)
  • to despise/look down on(賎視)

Idioms

  • To despise wealth and honor(賎富貴)
  • To value the lowly and despise the noble(貴賎)
  • Base and noble cannot coexist(貴賎不兩立)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used in feudal class systems to denote low social status, opposite of noble (貴).
  • In modern usage, carries strong negative connotations of moral baseness or worthlessness.
  • Rarely used in contemporary naming due to its overwhelmingly negative semantic field.

FAQ