DICTIONARY
The Chinese word tu - 土 - tǔ
(earth in Chinese)
Phonetic transcription (Hanyu Pinyin)
tǔ
Listen to pronunciation
(Mandarin = standard Chinese without accent)
You're listening to the natural voice of a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese.
English translations
earth, land, local, unrefined,
ground, soil, homemade, native
Chinese character and stroke order animation"How do I write 土 ( tǔ ) correctly?"
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
The traditional Chinese character of tǔ is identical with the modern (simplified) character displayed above.
Chinese example sentence with 土 ( tu / tǔ ) ⓘWriting in Pinyin
Before using the Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Before using the Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Xie shang dou shi tu.
Xié shàng dōu shì tǔ.
鞋上都是土。
– English translation: The shoes are covered in dirt.
Usage as a radical
土 can also be used as a radical, i.e. as a sub-component of a Chinese character. It is then called tǔzìpáng.
Character complexity
土 is composed of 3 strokes and therefore is of very low complexity compared to the other simplified Chinese characters (average: 13.1 strokes).
Tags and additional information
(Meaning of individual characters, character components etc.)
dust | address
土 ( tu / tǔ ) belongs to the 1000 most common Chinese characters (rank 624)
土 ( tu / tǔ ) belongs to the 1000 most common Chinese characters (rank 624)
Chinese example words containing the character 土 ( tu / tǔ )
Other characters that are pronounced tǔ in Chinese
Report missing or erroneous translation of tu in English
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Version 5.68 / Last updated: 2026-11-15