大地 (dà dì) — the earth; land; ground | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary 'the earth / the land,' often personified (大地母亲) in writing. Use 地球 for the planet, and 土地 for soil, ownership, or territory.

noun

the earthlandground

Easily confused

天地tiān dìlook-alikeheaven and earth; the world

Examples

，大地。
Chūn tiān, dà dì shàng kāi mǎn le xiān huā.
In spring, the earth is covered with flowers.
大地。
Nóng mín zài dà dì shàng zhòng dì.
Farmers work the land.
大地，。
Wǒ men yào bǎo hù dà dì, ài hù huán jìng.
We must protect the earth and care for the environment.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大 (big) and 地 (earth) combine to refer to the vast earth or land.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

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 6 Geography & Landforms

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