低价
dījià · HSK 7
low price
🏷️ 低 (low) + 价 (price) = low price, literally what it says
低 means low or short in height, 价 means price or value. Together they form the most direct Chinese compound: low + price = cheap. Think of a price tag dropping down to the floor.
低 — person radical 亻 + 氐 (base)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 亻 (person) gives the meaning, while 氐 supplies the sound and originally depicted something reaching the ground or base. Together they suggest a person bowing low, which extended to the general sense of 'low' in height, position, or degree.
价 — person radical 亻 + 介 (jiè)
价 is the simplified form of 價. The traditional form combines 亻 (person) with 賈 (merchant), pointing to the act of pricing goods. In the simplified version, 賈 was replaced by the phonetic 介, which hints at the 'jià' reading while keeping the 'person' radical for the trading sense.