earth

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictograph in oracle-bone script depicting a mound or patch of earth with three horizontal layers representing the ground and what lies beneath it.

Mnemonic: Three horizontal strokes stacked like layers of earth—remember the earth radical by picturing three layers of soil.

• 垂chuí🔊

  to hang (down)

  HSK 7

  8 strokes

• 坪píng🔊

  a plain

  8 strokes

• 坳ào🔊

  depression; cavity; hollow

  8 strokes

• 㘵bù🔊

  (used in place names)

  8 strokes

• 坩gān🔊

  crucible

  8 strokes

• 坫diàn🔊

  stand for goblets

  8 strokes

• 坭ní🔊

  variant of 泥[ni2]

  8 strokes

• 坯pī🔊

  blank (e.g. for a coin)

  8 strokes

• 坰jiōng🔊

  environs

  8 strokes

• 坱yǎng🔊

  fine dust

  8 strokes

• 坲fó🔊

  (of dust) to rise in the air

  8 strokes

• 坷kě🔊

  used in 坎坷[kan3 ke3]

  8 strokes

• 坼chè🔊

  to crack

  8 strokes

• 坽líng🔊

  (literary) precipitous cliff

  8 strokes

• 垃lā🔊

  used in 垃圾[la1 ji1]

  8 strokes

• 垅lǒng🔊

  old variant of 壟|垄[long3]

  8 strokes

• 垆lú🔊

  clay

  8 strokes

• 垇ào🔊

  (used in place names)

  8 strokes

• 垈dài🔊

  used in place names

  8 strokes

• 城chéng🔊

  city walls

  HSK 3

  9 strokes

• 型xíng🔊

  mold

  HSK 4

  9 strokes

• 垫diàn🔊

  pad

  HSK 7

  9 strokes

• 垛duǒ🔊

  variant of 垛[duo3]

  9 strokes

• 垮kuǎ🔊

  to collapse (lit. or fig.)

  HSK 7

  9 strokes

• 垚yáo🔊

  variant of 堯|尧, legendary emperor Yao, c. 2200 BC

  9 strokes

• 垒lěi🔊

  rampart

  9 strokes

• 垌dòng🔊

  field

  9 strokes

• 垍jì🔊

  hard earth

  9 strokes

• 垎hè🔊

  (literary) (of soil) dry and hard

  9 strokes

• 垏lǜ🔊

  (literary) earth ridge between fields

  9 strokes

• 垓gāi🔊

  boundary

  9 strokes

• 垔yīn🔊

  to restrain

  9 strokes

• 垕hòu🔊

  thick

  9 strokes

• 垖duī🔊

  old variant of 堆[dui1]

  9 strokes

• 垗zhào🔊

  sacrifice

  9 strokes

• 垙guāng🔊

  (literary) footpath separating fields

  9 strokes

• 垝guǐ🔊

  (literary) dilapidated; collapsed; damaged

  9 strokes

• 垞chá🔊

  mound

  9 strokes

• 垟yáng🔊

  clay sheep buried with the dead

  9 strokes

• 垠yín🔊

  limit

  9 strokes

• 垡fá🔊

  to turn the soil

  9 strokes

• 垢gòu🔊

  dirt

  9 strokes

• 垣yuán🔊

  wall

  9 strokes

• 垤dié🔊

  anthill

  9 strokes

• 垦kěn🔊

  to reclaim (land)

  9 strokes

• 垧shǎng🔊

  unit of land area (equivalent to 10 or 15 mǔ 畝|亩[mu3] in parts of northeast China, but only 3 or 5 mǔ in northwest China)

  9 strokes

• 垩è🔊

  to whitewash

  9 strokes

• 垭yā🔊

  (dialect) strip of land between hills

  9 strokes