翻地 (fān de) — to turn over soil, to plow (land for planting)

Definition

翻地 means turning over soil to prepare for planting — a separable verb (离合词): insert 了/过 or a complement between 翻 and 地, as in 翻了一下午的地.

verb
to turn over soilto plow (land for planting)

Examples

  • ，翻地。
    Chūn tiān dào le, nóng mín kāi shǐ fān de bō zhòng.
    Spring has arrived; the farmers start turning the soil and sowing seeds.
  • ，。
    Wǒ fān le yí xià wǔ de dì, lèi huài le.
    I turned the soil all afternoon and was exhausted.
  • 翻地。
    Zhòng cài zhī qián bì xū xiān fān de.
    Before planting vegetables, you must first turn the soil.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

翻fānturn over
地dìsoil

翻 gives turning over, and 地 gives soil, so the action is turning up 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān翻fān
Same sound today

翻 pairs 羽 (wings) with 番, which gives the sound. The shape shows something fluttering.

Open 翻 →

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 →

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