地(ち)

ち
noun
land; ground; place
formalgeography
1. land; place; region
A particular land or locality, especially one with significance for the speaker: 日本(にほん)の地(ち), 異国(いこく)の地(ち). Somewhat literary; everyday speech prefers 場所(ばしょ) or 土地(とち).
異国(いこく)の地(ち)で働(はたら)く。
To work in a foreign land.
父(ちち)が生(う)まれた地(ち)を訪(たず)ねてみたい。
I would like to visit the land where my father was born.
この地(ち)は昔(むかし)から米作(べいさく)りが盛(さか)んで、水(みず)に恵(めぐ)まれてきた。
This region has long been known for rice growing and has been blessed with water.
2. the ground; the earth
The ground underfoot, as opposed to the sky. Appears mainly in set phrases and elevated writing, such as 地(ち)に足(あし)がつく (to have one's feet on the ground).
天(てん)と地(ち)ほどの差(さ)がある。
There is a difference as great as between heaven and earth.
そろそろ地(ち)に足(あし)をつけて考(かんが)えたほうがいい。
It's about time you thought about it with your feet on the ground.
強(つよ)い風(かぜ)で枝(えだ)が折(お)れ、地(ち)に落(お)ちた葉(は)が道(みち)を覆(おお)っていた。
Branches broke in the strong wind, and leaves fallen to the ground covered the road.

Read ち as an independent noun. The same kanji is read じ in many compounds (地面(じめん), 地元(じもと)) and appears as the suffix 〜地(ち) meaning "place, site" (目的地(もくてきち)).

Common expressions

Similar words

  • 土地(とち): land, plot of land — the everyday word, including land as property
  • 地面(じめん): the ground surface — concrete and physical, with no literary flavor
  • 場所(ばしょ): place — the neutral general word for any location

Related Words

Related: 〜地(ち)
Related: 土地(とち)
Compare: 場所(ばしょ) (place)
general
Added 2026.8.4 3:25 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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