堤
dī · HSK 7
dike
🌊🧱 Earth (土) + the sound 'dee' = a DEE-ke holding back water
The left radical 土 means earth or soil — exactly what dikes are built from. The right side 是 gives the sound dī, which conveniently sounds like the English word 'dike' itself.
堤 — earth radical 土 + 是 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The earth radical 土 signals the meaning—an embankment or dike built of earth to hold back water. The component 是 supplies the sound, historically close to the reading dī. Originally referring to riverbank levees, it now also appears in words like 堤坝 (dam).