躺下
tǎngxià
In Chinese, 'lay down' is translated as 躺下 (tǎngxià).
躺下 is strictly for a person or animal reclining their own body.
Meaning: to place on the ground (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The word consists of the verb 躺 (tǎng), meaning 'to lie' and the directional complement 下 (xià), meaning 'down'.
Which one should you use?
While 躺下 focuses on the action of moving into a lying position, the related form 躺着 focuses on the state of being in a lying position.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the continuous action of lying down, you can add the particle 着 (zhe) after the verb, resulting in 躺着.
How do you pronounce it?
tǎngxià
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use it to mean 'to place an object down' (as in the English 'lay the book down').
Did you know?
- In modern internet slang, the term 躺平 (tǎng píng), meaning 'lying flat', describes a social movement where young people reject societal pressure to overwork and instead choose a minimalist life.
- To tell a dog to 'lie down' in a command, owners often use 趴下 (pā xià), which specifically refers to the 'sploot' or belly-down position rather than the side-lying position of 躺下.
- The word 躺 is a phono-semantic compound, where the right side 尚 provides the sound and the left side ⺼ provides the meaning of 'body'.
Examples in context
- 她刚结束，就躺下打了个盹儿。As soon as she finished, she lay down and had a nap.This sentence shows how to use 躺下 when someone is about to take a nap.Tatoeba #462095 by fucongcong, translation #7837612 by sharris123
Example conversation
Yuting is helping Wei set up a camping tent.
- 雨婷 Yuting伟，请把这个垫子躺下。Wěi, qǐng bǎ zhège diànzi tǎng xià.Wei, please lay this mat down.
- 伟 Wei好的，应该放在哪里？Hǎo de, yīnggāi fàng zài nǎlǐ?Okay, where should I put it?
- 雨婷 Yuting就躺下放在帐篷中间。Jiù tǎng xià fàng zài zhàngpéng zhōngjiān.Just lay it down in the middle of the tent.
- 伟 Wei没问题，我已经铺好了。Méi wèntí, wǒ yǐjīng pū hǎo le.No problem, I have already spread it out.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
