Meaning of 土地
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- land
- soil
- territory
Measure word: 片,塊|块
- local god
- genius loci
How to use 土地
土地 is a fairly formal noun used for land as a resource, property, or territory, often in news, law, and talk about farming. Example: 这里的土地很肥沃。(Zhèlǐ de tǔdì hěn féiwò.) The land here is very fertile.
土 (tǔ) means earth or soil, and 地 (dì) means ground. Put earth and ground together and you get 土地, a piece of land you can stand on, farm, or own.
Common mistake: Learners often use 土地 for everyday spots like "on the ground" or "this place", but those need 地上 (dìshang) or 地方 (dìfang). Also keep the tone on 地 fourth tone, tǔdì. A neutral tone, tǔdi, changes the meaning to the local earth god.
土地 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
土 tǔ · earth · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
地 de · -ly · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 土地.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 地上 | dìshang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 地图 | dìtú | map |
| 地球 | dìqiú | the earth |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | underground railway; subway; subway train |
| 草地 | cǎodì | lawn; meadow |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
| 地铁站 | dìtiězhàn | subway station |
| 地区 | dìqū | region; area (informal or geographical term); prefecture (in China's administrative system |
| 当地 | dāngdì | local |
| 各地 | gèdì | in all parts of (a country); various regions |
Questions about 土地
What does 土地 mean?
土地 (tǔdì) means "land; soil" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 土地?
土地 is made of 2 characters: 土 (3 strokes), 地 (6 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 土地 an HSK word?
Yes. 土地 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 土地 and 土 on their own?
土 (tǔ) by itself usually means dirt or soil, the material you can hold in your hand. 土地 (tǔdì) means land as an area, such as farmland, property, or a country's territory.
Who is 土地 (tǔdi) the local god?
With a neutral tone on the second syllable, 土地 refers to a local god who protects a particular place, a genius loci. You may see this sense in folk religion, temples, and traditional stories.