土匪
tǔ fěi · HSK 7
bandit
🔫 土 = earth/local + 匪 = bandit → a homegrown countryside bandit
土 means earth or local/rural, and 匪 already means outlaw or bandit. Together 土匪 names the local bandits who once roamed the countryside, distinct from organized armies.
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.