土 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

土: earth; soil; ground; Saturday. JLPT N5; 3 strokes.

Readings

On readings

ド、ト

Kun readings

つち

Romaji

do, to, tsuchi

Study notes

土 means 'earth, soil'; it also indicates Saturday, 土曜日 (どようび).

On reading: ド in 土曜日 (どようび, Saturday), 土台 (どだい, foundation), 国土 (こくど, national territory), 土木 (どぼく, civil engineering), 粘土 (ねんど, clay). ト in 土地 (とち, ground, location).

Kun reading: つち, 'earth': 土を掘る (digging the earth), 赤土 (あかつち, red earth).

Special readings: 土産 (みやげ, souvenir or gift brought from a trip) and お土産 (おみやげ) are read as whole words.

Remember: 土 is distinguished from 士 (as in 博士, はかせ, research doctor) by the horizontal strokes: in 土 the longest is the lower one, in 士 the upper one.

Example words

• 土曜日 (どようび) — Saturday
• 土地 (とち) — land; plot
• 土 (つち) — soil; earth

Example sentences

土のにおいが好きです。

tsuchi no nioi ga suki desu.

I like the smell of earth.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.