Meaning of 地方
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- place; location; area; space; territory
- aspect; part
Measure word: 處|处
- region
- regional (away from the central administration)
- local
How to use 地方
In everyday speech 地方 (dìfang) means any place or spot, and it can also mean a part or aspect of something, as in 你有什么地方不懂？(Nǐ yǒu shénme dìfang bù dǒng?) What part don't you understand? A common example: 这个地方很漂亮。(Zhège dìfang hěn piàoliang.) This place is very beautiful.
地 (dì) means ground or earth, and 方 (fāng) means a side or direction. Put a patch of ground together with a direction and you get a place you can point to: 地方 (dìfang).
Common mistake: Learners often say the second syllable with a full first tone in every case. For the everyday meaning "place" it is neutral tone, dìfang, while dìfāng with a first tone means "local" or "regional", as in 地方政府 (dìfāng zhèngfǔ) local government.
地方 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.
地 de · -ly · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
方 fāng · square · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 地方.
| 地上 | dìshang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 地图 | dìtú | map |
| 方法 | fāngfǎ | method; way; technique; procedure |
| 地球 | dìqiú | the earth |
| 方向 | fāngxiàng | direction; orientation |
| 方面 | fāngmiàn | respect; aspect |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | convenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy |
| 南方 | nánfāng | south; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of |
| 北方 | běifāng | north; the northern part a country |
| 西方 | xīfāng | the West; the Occident |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | underground railway; subway; subway train |
Questions about 地方
What does 地方 mean?
地方 (dìfang) means "place; location; area; space; territory; aspect; part" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 地方?
地方 is made of 2 characters: 地 (6 strokes), 方 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 地方 an HSK word?
Yes. 地方 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 地方 and 地点?
地方 (dìfang) is a general, casual word for any place or even a part of something. 地点 (dìdiǎn) is more formal and means a specific site or location, often for an event, like 会议地点 (huìyì dìdiǎn) the meeting venue.
How do I ask where someone is from using 地方?
You can say 你是什么地方人？(Nǐ shì shénme dìfang rén?) What place are you from? It is a natural alternative to 你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?).