Chinese word

泥土

Pronunciation

Pinyinní tǔ

Meaning

  • nounsoil

Example

花盆里的泥土需要换新。huā pén lǐ de ní tǔ xū yào huàn xīn

The soil in the flowerpot needs to be replaced.

Illustration for 泥土 (soil)

More examples

雨后，园地的泥土变得湿润，有利于植物生长。yǔ hòu yuán dì de ní tǔ biàn de shī rùn yǒu lì yú zhí wù shēng zhǎng

After the rain, the soil in the garden became moist, helping plants grow.

Core concept

Earth made soft and sticky by water, with enough body to cling rather than crumble.

Common phrases

  • 湿润的泥土shī rùn de ní tǔ

    moist soil

  • 沾有泥土zhān yǒu ní tǔ

    covered in dirt

Similar words

土tǔ: The usual dry earth that makes up the ground and may become hard in lumps.
泥ní: Very wet earth with a soft, sticky texture that can cling to surfaces.
土壤tú rǎng: Earth forming the plant-growing surface layer, especially when its nature or fertility matters.

Definition in Chinese

含水较多、呈泥状且质地柔软的土，易粘附且不易散开。hán shuǐ jiào duō chéng ní zhuàng qiě zhì dì róu ruǎn de tǔ yì zhān fù qiě bú yì sàn kāi

Word origin

泥 (ní, "mud") + 土 (tǔ, "soil") combines wet, sticky earth with the general word for earth, giving a noun for soil that holds together.

Usage tips

  • In everyday descriptions, this noun can name material in a plant pot, on a shoe, or spread over a path, so the surrounding setting shows what is being described.

Other meanings

  • mudnoun

Word lists with this word