壤 meaning and stroke order
Soil, loam, earth; rich
How to write 壤, stroke by stroke
20 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 壤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) soil; earth
- (literary) the earth (contrasted with heaven 天[tian1])
How 壤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 襄 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 壤
壤 is earth 土 on the left with 襄 (xiāng) on the right giving the sound. Picture rich soil 土 piled beside a busy, layered shape, as if the ground is thick with many layers of loam.
壤 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words rather than alone. The most common word is 土壤 (tǔrǎng), used in science, farming and figuratively for conditions that let something grow. Example: 这里的土壤很肥沃。(Zhèlǐ de tǔrǎng hěn féiwò.) The soil here is very fertile.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 壤 with 嚷 (rǎng, to shout) and 让 (ràng, to let), which sound alike. Remember that 壤 has the earth radical 土, while 嚷 has the mouth radical 口 because shouting uses the mouth.
Common words with 壤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 土壤 | tǔrǎng | soil | HSK 7-9 |
壤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 壤
How many strokes are in 壤?
壤 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 壤 mean?
壤 (rǎng) means soil, loam, earth; rich. A common word with it is 土壤 (tǔrǎng), meaning "soil".
How do you pronounce 壤?
壤 is pronounced rǎng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 壤?
The radical of 壤 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 壤 under this radical.
Is 壤 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 壤 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 土壤 be used figuratively?
Yes. 土壤 can mean the environment or conditions that allow something to develop, such as 腐败的土壤 (fǔbài de tǔrǎng), the breeding ground for corruption.
What does 天壤之别 mean?
天壤之别 (tiān rǎng zhī bié) means a difference as great as heaven and earth, a huge gap. It uses the literary sense of 壤 as the earth contrasted with 天 (tiān), heaven.