The word 下属 (xiàshǔ) is a compound noun formed by combining two meaningful characters: 下 (xià), meaning "below" or "lower", and 属 (shǔ), meaning "to belong to" or "to be subordinate to". Together, they create a literal sense of "one who belongs below", structurally following a common Chinese word-formation pattern where a modifier (下) precedes and specifies the head element (属), resulting in the meaning "subordinate" or "someone under the authority of another".