<p>地 (di4) is a <strong>generic term</strong>, it refers to <em>land</em>, or even more generically, surfaces that can be stepped on (this notably includes earth, and <em>the</em> Earth 地球).</p>
<p>Hence it appears in words that semantically relate to:</p>
<ul>
<li>land as 地址 (address), 地区 (region/area), 地图 (map), 地位 (position), 地雷 (landmine, this is probably a calque), 异地 (elsewhere, abroad) ...</li>
<li>steppable surfaces as 地板 (floor), 地毯 (carpet)</li>
<li>earth as 地球 (Earth), 地震 (earthquake)</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>土 (tu3) is <strong>more specific</strong>, it means &quot;ground&quot;, &quot;soil&quot;, &quot;dirt&quot;. As a matter of fact, it isn't as productive as 地 as a morpheme in multi-character words. It restricts compounds to less abstract referents:</p>
<ul>
<li>ground/dirt as in 土豆 &quot;potato&quot; (bean of the ground), 泥土 (mud), 混凝土 (concrete, the construction material), 尘土 (dust), 冻土 (tundra), names of minerals, etc.</li>
<li>soil as in 土壤 (soil), 乡土 (native soil), 沃土 (fertile soil)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-18T09:20:47.687Z
2022-01-18T09:20:47.687Z
blackgreen
<p>地：对一种特定区域的称呼。例如：玉米地，水果地。
土：对一种特定物质的称呼。例如：黑土，黄土。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-22T10:41:11.423Z
2022-01-22T10:41:11.423Z
GGB XZY
<p>土： 地面上的泥沙混合物<br />
tǔ: a mixture of silt on the surface of the earth.</p>
<p>I read, the original character shows a lump of clay on a potter's wheel. So, originally 土 referred to clay.</p>
<p>地：土 is in  地, on the left.</p>
<p>On the right, the phonetic part is either a snake or maybe a wash basin. Drooze could tell us.</p>
<p>地：地球或地球的某部分：地质。地壳。<br />
dì: the Earth, or some part of the Earth: geology, the Earth's crust.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-19T00:02:19.863Z
2022-01-19T00:02:19.863Z
Pedroski
<p>地(ground, earth) is a collection of 土(soil, dirt) - 我們站在土地上(we stand on the earth/ground).</p>
<p>地 is related to territory and place, such as 地域 (territory), 地方(place), 地點(location). 土 is the particles on the crust of the earth.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-17T23:48:30.217Z
2022-01-17T23:55:16.930Z
2022-01-17T23:55:16.930Z
r13
<h2>土</h2>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/C6mdK.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/C6mdK.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>①土 is a 象形字 (Pictograms). It's literally a pile of soil (the block on the bar) on the ground (the bottom bar). So it's original meaning is <strong>piles of soil</strong>. This meaning is still active in modern Chinese as a free morpheme. It's also very productive in forming words, e.g. 土豆、黃土.</p>
<p>②Since at that time agriculture was very important, piles of soil were used for rituals. You can see a lot of <strong>ritual-related</strong> characters composed of 土, e.g. 社、堯.</p>
<p>③The usage in rituals gave 土 a tribal/political implication; 土 was extended to mean <strong>one's own land/territory</strong>; it cannot be generalized to generic land.</p>
<p>④土 was then further extended to an adjective which means countryside-related/folk (土方), unstylish (土氣).</p>
<h2>地</h2>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RVXRM.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RVXRM.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>①地 is a 形聲字 (Phonon-semantic compounds). While 也 mainly gives 地 its sound, it also has implication in meaning. 也 generally means spread/expanded. This is why 地 can be used for generic land. Actually, the original meaning of 地 is the opposite of 天 (sky).</p>
<p>②地 is delimited to mean the ground, e.g. 地上.</p>
<p>③地 is delimited to mean a region, e.g. 地區.</p>
<p>④地 is abstracted to mean position/status (地位), mind (見地), etc.</p>
<p>⑤地 is much later used to refer to things related to the earth planet, e.g. 地球、地理.</p>
<h2>The difference between the overlapping meaning land</h2>
<p>An interesting example to illustrate the nuances of the meaning land is 故土 vs. 故地. 故土 is one's homeland, while 故地 refers to some place where you have been before but not homeland.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-21T11:35:38.917Z
2022-01-21T11:43:28.557Z
2022-01-21T11:43:28.557Z
lilysirius
<p>Based on some dictionaries, the former seems to be more physically relating to the soil, earth; with the latter being more relating to soil or territory. I'm not sure how correct this is.</p>

<meaning><difference><mandarin>
What is the difference between 地 and 土?
# What is the difference between 地 and 土?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-17)

Based on some dictionaries, the former seems to be more physically relating to the soil, earth; with the latter being more relating to soil or territory. I'm not sure how correct this is.

**Tags:** meaning, difference, mandarin

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## 5 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-01-18. Score: 1

地 (di4) is a **generic term**, it refers to *land*, or even more generically, surfaces that can be stepped on (this notably includes earth, and *the* Earth 地球).

Hence it appears in words that semantically relate to:

* land as 地址 (address), 地区 (region/area), 地图 (map), 地位 (position), 地雷 (landmine, this is probably a calque), 异地 (elsewhere, abroad) ...
* steppable surfaces as 地板 (floor), 地毯 (carpet)
* earth as 地球 (Earth), 地震 (earthquake)

---

土 (tu3) is **more specific**, it means "ground", "soil", "dirt". As a matter of fact, it isn't as productive as 地 as a morpheme in multi-character words. It restricts compounds to less abstract referents:

* ground/dirt as in 土豆 "potato" (bean of the ground), 泥土 (mud), 混凝土 (concrete, the construction material), 尘土 (dust), 冻土 (tundra), names of minerals, etc.
* soil as in 土壤 (soil), 乡土 (native soil), 沃土 (fertile soil)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-01-22. Score: 1

地：对一种特定区域的称呼。例如：玉米地，水果地。
土：对一种特定物质的称呼。例如：黑土，黄土。


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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-01-19. Score: 1

土： 地面上的泥沙混合物  
tǔ: a mixture of silt on the surface of the earth.

I read, the original character shows a lump of clay on a potter's wheel. So, originally 土 referred to clay.

地：土 is in 地, on the left.

On the right, the phonetic part is either a snake or maybe a wash basin. Drooze could tell us.

地：地球或地球的某部分：地质。地壳。  
dì: the Earth, or some part of the Earth: geology, the Earth's crust.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2022-01-17. Score: 1

地(ground, earth) is a collection of 土(soil, dirt) - 我們站在土地上(we stand on the earth/ground).

地 is related to territory and place, such as 地域 (territory), 地方(place), 地點(location). 土 is the particles on the crust of the earth.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2022-01-21. Score: 1

## 土

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/C6mdK.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/C6mdK.jpg)

①土 is a 象形字 (Pictograms). It's literally a pile of soil (the block on the bar) on the ground (the bottom bar). So it's original meaning is **piles of soil**. This meaning is still active in modern Chinese as a free morpheme. It's also very productive in forming words, e.g. 土豆、黃土.

②Since at that time agriculture was very important, piles of soil were used for rituals. You can see a lot of **ritual-related** characters composed of 土, e.g. 社、堯.

③The usage in rituals gave 土 a tribal/political implication; 土 was extended to mean **one's own land/territory**; it cannot be generalized to generic land.

④土 was then further extended to an adjective which means countryside-related/folk (土方), unstylish (土氣).

## 地

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/RVXRM.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RVXRM.jpg)

①地 is a 形聲字 (Phonon-semantic compounds). While 也 mainly gives 地 its sound, it also has implication in meaning. 也 generally means spread/expanded. This is why 地 can be used for generic land. Actually, the original meaning of 地 is the opposite of 天 (sky).

②地 is delimited to mean the ground, e.g. 地上.

③地 is delimited to mean a region, e.g. 地區.

④地 is abstracted to mean position/status (地位), mind (見地), etc.

⑤地 is much later used to refer to things related to the earth planet, e.g. 地球、地理.

## The difference between the overlapping meaning land

An interesting example to illustrate the nuances of the meaning land is 故土 vs. 故地. 故土 is one's homeland, while 故地 refers to some place where you have been before but not homeland.


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