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天地 (tiān dì) — heaven and earth; the world; scope; field of activity

Definition

天地 literally pairs 'heaven and earth' and is used in literary or figurative contexts for 'the world' or a 'scope/field of activity' — broader than the physical 全球 and more rhetorical than the neutral 世界.

noun
heaven and earththe worldscopefield of activity
Easily confused

Examples

  • 天地，。
    Tā zǒu biàn le zhōng guó de tiān dì, jiàn shi le hěn duō dì fāng.
    He traveled all over China's vast land and saw many places.
  • 天地。
    Zhè ge lǐng yù yǒu guǎng kuò de tiān dì děng dài wǒ men qù tàn suǒ.
    This field has vast scope waiting for us to explore.
  • 天地，。
    tiān dì Zhī jiān, rén lèi xiǎn de hěn miǎo xiǎo.
    Between heaven and earth, humans seem very small.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

天tiānheaven
地dìearth

天 means heaven, 地 means earth; together they mean the world or a field of activity.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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
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.

Open 地 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract ConceptsGeography & Landforms

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