田地 (tián dì) — field, farmland, cultivated land; (figurative)…

Definition

Literally 'field/farmland,' but the same word also means 'plight' in a fixed phrase like 这步田地 ('such a predicament') — almost always negative.

noun

fieldfarmlandcultivated land(figurative) plightsituation (usually a bad one)

Measure word · 块

田地。
Nóng mín zài tián dì lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō xiǎo mài.
The farmers planted a lot of wheat in the fields.
田地。
Tā zěn me yě méi xiǎng dào zì jǐ huì luò dào zhè bù tián dì.
He never expected that he would end up in such a plight.
，田地。
Gōng sī jīng yíng bú shàn, jìng rán dào le pò chǎn de tián dì.
The company was poorly managed and actually got to the point of bankruptcy.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

田 and 地 both refer to cultivated land, so together they mean fields or, figuratively, a bad situation.

Characters in this word

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

田 looks like a field divided into four sections.

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

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