C♯dim (diminished) / D♭dim (diminished)

3-note diminished on C♯ / D♭C♯, E, G.

Press to hear the chord strummed low to high.

A minor third stacked on a minor third — the fifth is flattened, giving an unstable, tense sound that wants to resolve.

The notes

Pitches taken from the first fingering below — click any note to open its frequency page.

Interval formula

DegreeNoteWhat it is
1C♯root
♭3Eminor third
♭5Gflat fifth (diminished)

The formula reads in semitones above the root (C♯): 1, ♭3, ♭5. A voicing may leave a tone out — often the fifth — but never adds one from outside this set.

Guitar fingerings · 4

4123
open position
4fr1243
from fret 4
7fr3142
from fret 7
11fr123
from fret 11

Ukulele fingerings · 4

3fr4213
from fret 3
6fr1243
from fret 6
7fr3141
from fret 7
10fr2431
from fret 10

Read a diagram top-down: the thick bar is the nut, dots are where to press (the number is which finger), means play the open string, means don't play it. A bar across strings is a barre.

Other C♯ / D♭ chords

dim (diminished) chords on every root