土
土 in useful words
Learn the character in complete words, because its pronunciation can change with context. Read each word aloud, connect it with the meaning, and then cover the reading to test yourself.
- 国土こくど
- country; territory; domain; realm
- 土木どぼく
- engineering works; civil engineering; public works
- 土地とち
- plot of land; lot; soil
- 領土りょうど
- territory; domain; dominion; possession
Reading 土 in context
土 is つち for soil and ど in 土曜日 (どようび, Saturday). The lower horizontal stroke of 土 is longer than the upper one. In 士, the upper horizontal is longer; that visual contrast is more useful than memorising both as similar crosses.
Try it in a sentence
Practice sentence written for this site.
土曜日は休みです。
どようびは やすみです。
Saturday is a day off.
Watch for this: Use どようび for Saturday, not とようび. When reviewing this word, check the two small voicing marks in ど as well as the kanji shape.
Practise this reading in the calendar lesson →Choose your next practice
For reading, cover a word’s pronunciation and recall it before checking. For handwriting, hide the stroke diagram and write the character from memory. An isolated reading list is a reference; the word determines which sound you need.