Meaning of 地球
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the earth
How to use 地球
地球 is the everyday word for the planet Earth, used in science, news, and casual talk about the environment. Example: 我们要保护地球。(Wǒmen yào bǎohù dìqiú.) We need to protect the earth.
地 (dì) means ground or land, and 球 (qiú) means ball. Put them together and the earth is simply the "ground ball" we all live on.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 地球 for "soil" or "the ground", but that is 土 (tǔ) or 地上 (dìshang). 地球 only means the planet. Also keep the tones straight: fourth tone dì, then rising qiú.
地球 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
球 qiú · ball · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Related words
Words that share a character with 地球.
| 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 |
| 打球 | dǎ qiú | to play a ball sport |
| 球队 | qiúduì | sports team (basketball, soccer, football etc) |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | underground railway; subway; subway train |
| 球场 | qiúchǎng | stadium; sports ground |
| 篮球 | lánqiú | basketball |
| 草地 | cǎodì | lawn; meadow |
| 网球 | wǎngqiú | tennis; tennis ball |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
Questions about 地球
What does 地球 mean?
地球 (dìqiú) means "the earth" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 地球?
地球 is made of 2 characters: 地 (6 strokes), 球 (11 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 地球 an HSK word?
Yes. 地球 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say "globe" as in the model of the earth?
A desk globe is 地球仪 (dìqiúyí). The added 仪 means instrument or model.
Is 地球 used in the names of other planets?
No. Other planets usually end in 星 (xīng), such as 火星 (huǒxīng) Mars and 木星 (mùxīng) Jupiter. 地球 is a special name just for our planet.