种地 (zhòng dì) — to farm, to work the land | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

种地 (zhòng dì) means 'to farm / work the land' as a daily activity. It pairs naturally with 田 ('field, farmland') — 种地 is the act of working a 田, while 耕地 is a more formal synonym for tilling arable land.

verb

to farmto work the land

Examples

种地。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù huì zhòng dì.
He has known how to farm since childhood.
。
Wǒ bà zhǒng le sān shí nián de dì.
My dad has farmed for thirty years.
。
Jīn nián wǒ men dǎ suàn zhǒng liǎng mǔ dì de xiǎo mài.
This year we plan to farm two mu of wheat.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

种 means to plant or farm, and 地 means land, together describing working the land.

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.

禾中种

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hérice

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng种zhǒng

Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its 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 6 Agriculture & Farming

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