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泥土 (ní tǔ) — soil, earth, mud, clay (general term for dirt/earth)

Definition

泥土 covers the full range of natural earth — soil, mud, and clay — as a general, everyday noun. Narrower than 土壤 (a technical/agricultural term for 'soil') and broader than 泥 (just wet mud) or 土地 (land/territory).

noun
soilearthmudclay (general term for dirt/earth)

Examples

  • 泥土。
    Zhè xiē ní tǔ hěn shì hé zhòng huā.
    This soil is very suitable for growing flowers.
  • 泥土，。
    Yǔ hòu dì shàng quán shì ní tǔ, zǒu lù yào xiǎo xīn.
    After the rain, the ground is all mud; be careful when walking.
  • 泥土。
    Táo qì shì yòng ní tǔ shāo zhì ér chéng de.
    Pottery is made by firing clay.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

泥nímud
土tǔearth

泥 and 土 both refer to soft earth, so together they name soil or mud generally.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
尼
尼ní泥nì
Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

Open 泥 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Materials & Substances

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