壤

rǎng

土 + 襄

Definitions

rǎng (noun) soil; earth

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 襄 represents the sound.

Semantic: 土 Phonetic: 襄

About

壤 is a phono-semantic compound: the earth radical 土 on the left signals the meaning of ground or soil, and the complex component 襄 on the right indicates the pronunciation. It denotes arable soil, fertile, cultivated land suitable for agriculture, setting it apart from ordinary dirt. The character is frequently used in agricultural and geographical terminology for soil quality, territory, and the land used for planting and sustaining crops.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这块土壤非常肥沃。

Zhè kuài tǔrǎng fēichāng féiwò.

This piece of soil is very fertile.

我们的家乡土壤肥沃。

Wǒmen de jiāxiāng tǔrǎng féiwò.

Our hometown has fertile soil.

两国接壤的边界很长。

Liǎng guó jiērǎng de biānjiè hěn cháng.

The border where the two countries adjoin is very long.

这里主要是红色的红壤。

Zhèlǐ zhǔyào shì hóngsè de hóngrǎng.

The soil here is primarily red soil.

这片沃壤适合种植水稻。

Zhè piàn wòrǎng shìhé zhòngzhí shuǐdào.

This fertile land is suitable for growing rice.

天壤之别的差距令人震惊。

Tiānrǎngzhībié de chājù lìng rén zhènjìng.

The gap as different as heaven and earth is shocking.

重金属污染会破坏土壤结构。

Zhòngjīnshǔ wūrǎn huì pòhuài tǔrǎng jiégòu.

Heavy metal pollution can damage soil structure.

地缘政治与接壤国家关系密切。

Dìyuán zhèngzhì yǔ jiērǎng guójiā guānxì mìqiè.

Geopolitics is closely related to relations with neighboring countries.

Related Characters

Component: 土

Component: 襄

壤