Japanese word

地上

Pronunciation

Romajichijō

Meaning

  • nounground

Example

雪で地上が白くなりました。yuki de chi jō ga shiro ku na ri ma shi ta

The ground turned white with snow.

Illustration for 地上 (ground)

More examples

地上から街の明かりがよく見えます。chi jō ka ra machi no a ka ri ga yo ku mi e ma su

The city lights are easy to see from the ground.

Core concept

Points to the earth's exposed surface and the space immediately above it, rather than anything underground.

Common phrases

  • 地上から見るchi jō ka ra mi ru

    view from the ground

  • 地上に出るchi jō ni de ru

    come above ground

  • 地上に降りるchi jō ni o ri ru

    land on the ground

Similar words

地面jimen: The solid surface of the earth where people stand and objects rest.
地表chihyō: The outer surface of the earth, used mainly in formal or scientific descriptions.

Definition in Japanese

地下ではなく、地球の表面またはその上にある場所。chi ka de wa na ku chi kyū no hyō men ma ta wa so no ue ni a ru ba sho

Word origin

地上 (chijō) is a Japanese compound of 地 (chi, "earth" or "land") and 上 (jō, "above"), which together express the idea of being above the earth or on its surface.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Japanese, 地上 (chijō) is useful for distinguishing things on the earth's surface from things in 地下 (chika, "underground"), especially when describing locations.

Other meanings

  • above groundnoun
  • earth's surfacenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word