耕地 (gēng dì) — (noun) arable land, farmland; (verb) to plow, t… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

耕地 covers both the noun 'arable land / farmland' and the verb 'to plow / till'. As a noun it overlaps with 田 and 农田 but emphasizes land that is actively cultivated; as a verb it pairs with 耕 (same meaning, used alone or in compounds).

noun

arable landfarmland

verb

to plowto till (the land)

Measure word · 块

Examples

耕地。
Nóng mín zài chūn tiān máng zhe gēng dì.
Farmers are busy plowing the land in spring.
耕地，。
Zhè piàn gēng dì miàn jī hěn dà, shì hé zhǒng xiǎo mài.
This farmland is large and suitable for growing wheat.
。
Tā men jīn nián yǐ jīng gēng le sān cì dì le.
They have already plowed the land three times this year.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

耕 means plow and 地 means land; the combination names tilling land, and also land that is tilled.

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.

耒井耕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耒耒lěitilling tool

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng耕gēng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耕 is built from 耒, a tilling tool, and 井, which gives the sound.

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

土也地

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

也yě地dì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Agriculture & Farming

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