Guitar, piano and ukulele chords

Ddim chord (D diminished)

The Ddim chord (D diminished) has 3 notes: D, F and A♭. It is a diminished chord: root, minor third and diminished fifth. It sounds very tense and unstable. It works as vii° in E flat major and ii° in C minor.

How to play it on guitar

An x is a string you don't play and 0 is an open string. The number on the left is the fret where the shape starts.

××
Barre chord · fret 1
xx0131
5fr ××
Easy version
x5676x

Notes in the chord

NoteInterval
DRoot
FMinor third
A♭Diminished fifth

Inversions

  • Root position: D – F – A♭
  • First inversion: F – A♭ – D
  • Second inversion: A♭ – D – F

On piano

The highlighted keys (D, F and A♭) make the chord in root position.

On ukulele

4fr
Usual shape
7545
7fr
Higher up the neck · fret 7
78108

Frequently asked questions

What notes are in the Ddim chord?

Ddim has 3 notes: D, F and A♭. It is a diminished chord: root, minor third and diminished fifth.

How do you play Ddim on guitar?

The usual shape is xx0131, read from the low E string to the high E string. If you can't play barre chords yet, start with the easy version: x5676x.

What keys is Ddim in?

Ddim is in E flat major (vii°) and C minor (ii°).