About
坨 (tuó) is a phono-semantic compound: the left side is the earth radical 土 (tǔ), placing it in the semantic field of soil or ground; the right side is the phonetic component 它 (tā). The character originally and chiefly means a lump, mound, or heap of earth or other clumped material. It is commonly used as a measure word for such masses, for instance, a lump of dough or a mound of soil. Its core structure aptly conveys the idea of a compacted, earthy mass, and in everyday usage it has broadened slightly to quantify various clustered or grouped items.
Etymology Hide
