土 tǔ — earth, soil · English

土

tǔ

earth, soil

At a glance · 土

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文象地面上一堆土（或地面突起），象形。小篆沿为「土」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「土」本指泥土、土地，引申为本土、地方。

Structure

象形字，象地面堆土之形。

At a glance

Pinyintǔ

Radical土

Strokes3

UnicodeU+571F

Character type象形

Theme地理

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English earth, soil Earth, soil, land; territory.

Français terre, sol Terre, sol, pays; territoire.

Español tierra, suelo Tierra, suelo, país; territorio.

العربية تراب، أرض تراب أو أرض أو إقليم.

Русский земля, почва Земля, почва, территория.

Common words

土地tǔ dìland
土tǔsoil

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