堤 (dī) is a Chinese character meaning “a dike or embankment”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 是 (to be; right, correct), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “dike; embankment”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 是
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（土3画[0–2] + 是9画[3–11] = 12画）
Memory aid
Earth (土) piled up where it is (是) needed most — along the river bank, to hold the water back.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 堤坝dī bàdikes and dams; embankment堤 = dī
- 河堤hé dīriver embankment; levee堤 = dī
- 堤堰dī yàndikes and weirs; embankments堤 = dī
Go deeper
All readings
dike; embankment
a dike or embankment; a long raised bank of earth or stone built along a river, lake or coast to hold back water
沿江河湖海用土石修筑的挡水建筑物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 堤坝dī bàdikes and dams; embankment堤 = dī
- 河堤hé dīriver embankment; levee堤 = dī
- 堤堰dī yàndikes and weirs; embankments堤 = dī
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 堤 mean?
堤 (dī) means a dike or embankment; a long raised bank of earth or stone built along a river, lake or coast to hold back water.
How do you pronounce 堤?
It is pronounced dī.
What parts is 堤 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 是 (to be; right, correct), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（土3画[0–2] + 是9画[3–11] = 12画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 堤 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 堤?
土. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 堤?
Common ones are 堤坝, 河堤, 堤堰. The reading of 堤 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.