地
de
- Pinyin
- de
- Pinyin (Plain)
- de
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 土
- Readings
- dede-ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunctOrder: 0PrimarydìdiTone: 4earth; ground; field; place; land; CL:片[pian4]Order: 1
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 292 431 Q 376 461 382 466 Q 389 475 384 482 Q 377 492 349 495 Q 321 496 295 483 Q 294 483 294 482 L 244 459 Q 154 429 124 423 Q 91 413 117 401 Q 151 389 224 409 Q 233 412 245 415 L 292 431 Z", "M 286 229 Q 290 334 292 431 L 294 482 Q 294 599 315 684 Q 318 696 296 711 Q 259 730 232 734 Q 214 738 206 728 Q 199 721 207 704 Q 237 662 237 634 Q 241 550 244 459 L 245 415 Q 245 318 242 211 C 241 181 285 199 286 229 Z", "M 242 211 Q 190 190 134 167 Q 118 160 88 157 Q 75 154 74 143 Q 73 130 84 122 Q 109 109 146 93 Q 156 92 168 102 Q 195 129 346 223 Q 367 236 382 250 Q 394 260 393 269 Q 387 273 375 270 Q 332 251 286 229 L 242 211 Z", "M 473 369 Q 513 393 580 428 L 627 454 Q 675 482 738 514 Q 757 521 762 510 Q 772 494 735 332 Q 731 289 700 300 Q 681 306 661 310 Q 648 311 651 304 Q 657 294 719 240 Q 741 216 757 237 Q 791 280 798 343 Q 808 406 818 470 Q 825 504 853 535 Q 863 551 848 562 Q 829 572 780 579 Q 761 582 749 569 Q 724 545 630 489 L 583 463 Q 541 444 497 421 Q 485 417 475 411 L 432 391 Q 377 369 341 355 Q 328 352 328 343 Q 328 336 369 326 Q 394 319 415 334 Q 419 338 432 345 L 473 369 Z", "M 580 428 Q 565 263 574 233 Q 580 220 590 226 Q 612 250 617 331 Q 621 395 627 454 L 630 489 Q 643 699 658 753 Q 668 774 655 787 Q 639 803 609 819 Q 585 829 560 820 Q 547 811 562 794 Q 586 742 589 696 Q 593 597 583 463 L 580 428 Z", "M 973 161 Q 958 201 944 318 Q 944 334 937 338 Q 931 341 927 324 Q 905 201 885 162 Q 869 135 811 120 Q 682 86 560 140 Q 512 165 497 197 Q 476 234 473 300 Q 472 333 473 369 L 475 411 Q 478 472 487 539 Q 491 557 479 566 Q 466 579 442 586 Q 429 590 421 585 Q 414 581 420 563 Q 435 526 433 488 Q 432 436 432 391 L 432 345 Q 433 221 451 176 Q 460 139 493 108 Q 604 20 811 49 Q 836 55 862 62 Q 916 80 966 121 Q 985 136 973 161 Z"]
- Meaning
- “地” most often means “earth, ground, land” and by extension “place” or “area” (e.g., 地面 ground, 地方 place). It is also used after adjectives as a structural particle to form adverbial phrases, similar to “-ly” in English (e.g., 慢慢地走 = walk slowly).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:54 PM
Usage
The character 地 is most commonly seen as a noun meaning “earth,” “ground,” or “land.” In this sense, it shows up in words like 地方 (dìfāng, “place/area”), 地图 (dìtú, “map”), 地球 (dìqiú, “the Earth”), and 地铁 (dìtiě, “subway,” literally “ground-iron”). Learners quickly encounter it in everyday contexts related to locations, geography, and physical space, such as 住在这个地方 (“live in this place”) or 掉在地上 (“fall on the ground”). It often carries the idea of physical ground or a location, and appears in many place-related or geography-related terms. Another very common use is as the structural particle de (pronounced “de,” neutral tone) written 地, which links adverbs to verbs, similar to “-ly” in English. In this function, 地 usually follows an adjective or adverbial phrase and comes before the verb, as in 慢慢地走 (“walk slowly”), 高兴地说 (“say happily”), or 认真地学习 (“study seriously”). In modern writing, many native speakers frequently omit the character or confuse it with 的 and 得, but in textbooks and learning materials, 地 is clearly taught as the marker that turns a describing word into an adverb modifying an action.
Handwriting Notes
地 in handwriting usually looks a bit more compact and rounded than in print. Visually, it’s made of two parts: on the left the vertical 辶-like “earth” component (土) and on the right the 也 component. In handwritten form, strokes often connect slightly or get simplified: the top horizontal of 土 and the vertical may be closer together, and the lower part of 也 can curve more smoothly, so the whole character feels like a tight, slightly slanted block rather than the perfectly straight lines seen in fonts. Individual writers differ in how square or rounded they make it, how long they draw the final horizontal of 土, and how open or closed the lower hook of 也 appears, but as long as the left “soil” shape and the right 也 shape are clearly distinguishable, it remains easy to read. AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such variations of 地, learning to recognize it even when strokes are joined, angles are looser, or proportions differ from standard print. These systems rely on the overall structure—the left-right layout and the rough stroke pattern—rather than a single exact form, so they can usually identify 地 correctly across a wide range of personal handwriting styles.
Description
地 is a common Chinese character meaning “earth,” “ground,” or “land,” and can also indicate a place or location. It is used in many words and phrases, such as 地方 (dìfang, place) and 地球 (dìqiú, Earth). In grammar, 地 (de) is also used as a structural particle to link an adverbial phrase to a verb.