土
tǔ · HSK 3
earth
🟫 Pictograph: a mound of dirt on the ground line — soil.
Oracle-bone form shows a lump of earth resting on the horizontal ground. The top horizontal is the mound, the bottom line is the ground. Found in 地 (land), 圭 (jade tablet), 堂 (hall).
土 — pictograph of a mound of earth on the ground
土 is a pictograph showing a lump or mound of soil resting on the ground line. In oracle bone script it depicted an earthen heap, sometimes interpreted as an altar to the earth god. The meaning has remained stable: earth, soil, or ground.