Japanese symbol for “soil”
地
ち
Romaji: chi
earth; ground; land; soil
In Japanese, soil is 地, read ち (chi).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n, n-suf earth; ground; land; soil
- n, n-suf place
- n, n-suf territory
- n, n-suf bottom (of a package, book, etc.)
- n, n-suf earth (one of the five elements)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “soil”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 土地 | とち tochi | plot of land; lot; soil |
| 土 | つち tsuchi | earth; soil; dirt |
| 土壌 | どじょう dojou | soil |
| 土 | に ni | soil (esp. reddish soil) |
| 汚す | よごす yogosu | to pollute; to contaminate; to soil |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 地域 | ちいき chiiki | area; region; district |
| 地球 | ちきゅう chikyuu | Earth; the globe |
| 地方 | ちほう chihou | district; region; area |
| 地元 | じもと jimoto | home area; home town |
| 地震 | じしん jishin | earthquake |
| 土地 | とち tochi | plot of land; lot; soil |
See also: Chinese symbol for “soil”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.