地 (dì) is a Chinese character meaning “ground”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 也 (also; too), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “ground; earth”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 也
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰土也；与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：土 3 笔 + 也 3 笔 = 6 笔（说文解字：地，从土也聲）
Memory aid
Soil (土) on the left, 也 on the right. Both parts are really in this character — picture soil spreading out sideways until it becomes the ground under your feet.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 土地tǔ dìland; soil地 = dì
- 田地tián dìfields; farmland地 = dì
- 扫地sǎo dìto sweep the floor地 = dì
- 各地gè dìeverywhere; all parts of a country地 = dì
- 地址dì zhǐaddress地 = dì
- 地壳dì qiàothe earth's crust地 = dì
- 坟地fén dìgraveyard; burial ground地 = dì
- 旱地hàn dìdry land; non-irrigated farmland地 = dì
- 阵地zhèn dìposition; front; battlefront地 = dì
- 陆地lù dìdry land (as opposed to sea)地 = dì
- 地狱dì yùhell; the underworld地 = dì
- 地球dì qiúthe Earth地 = dì
- 地铁dì tiěsubway; metro地 = dì
- 洼地wā dìlow-lying land; depression; basin地 = dì
- 犁地lí dìto plough the land地 = dì
- 盆地pén dìbasin (geography)地 = dì
- 种地zhòng dìto farm; to till the land地 = dì
- 耕地gēng dìfarmland; to plough the land地 = dì
- 荒地huāng dìwasteland; uncultivated land地 = dì
Go deeper
All readings
ground; earth
ground; earth; land; soil; place, region
地面、土壤；也指区域、地方。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 土地tǔ dìland; soil地 = dì
- 田地tián dìfields; farmland地 = dì
- 扫地sǎo dìto sweep the floor地 = dì
- 各地gè dìeverywhere; all parts of a country地 = dì
- 地址dì zhǐaddress地 = dì
- 地壳dì qiàothe earth's crust地 = dì
- 坟地fén dìgraveyard; burial ground地 = dì
- 旱地hàn dìdry land; non-irrigated farmland地 = dì
- 阵地zhèn dìposition; front; battlefront地 = dì
- 陆地lù dìdry land (as opposed to sea)地 = dì
- 地狱dì yùhell; the underworld地 = dì
- 地球dì qiúthe Earth地 = dì
- 地铁dì tiěsubway; metro地 = dì
- 洼地wā dìlow-lying land; depression; basin地 = dì
- 犁地lí dìto plough the land地 = dì
- 盆地pén dìbasin (geography)地 = dì
- 种地zhòng dìto farm; to till the land地 = dì
- 耕地gēng dìfarmland; to plough the land地 = dì
- 荒地huāng dìwasteland; uncultivated land地 = dì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 地 mean?
地 (dì) means ground; earth; land; soil; place, region.
How do you pronounce 地?
It is pronounced dì.
What parts is 地 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 也 (also; too), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿰土也；与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：土 3 笔 + 也 3 笔 = 6 笔（说文解字：地，从土也聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 地 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 地?
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 地?
Common ones are 土地, 田地, 扫地. The reading of 地 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.