水土

shuǐtǔ

noun HSK 7-9 #47,526

Meanings

1 water and soil
2 the natural conditions of a place; local climate and water

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

这里的水土适合种茶，长出来的叶子格外香。

Zhèlǐ de shuǐtǔ shìhé zhòng chá, zhǎng chūlái de yèzi géwài xiāng.

The soil and water here suit tea, and the leaves that grow are unusually fragrant.

HSK 7-9

山坡上种了树，水土流失明显减轻。

Shānpō shàng zhòng le shù, shuǐtǔ liúshī míngxiǎn jiǎnqīng.

Since the slope was planted with trees, erosion has dropped noticeably.

HSK 7-9

他刚到南方就水土不服，起了一身疹子。

Tā gāng dào nánfāng jiù shuǐtǔ-bùfú, qǐ le yì shēn zhěnzi.

He'd only just got south, the place didn't agree with him, and he came out in a rash.

Tips

usage

Everyday use is not literal: the word stands for everything a place does to a body, its water, food, air and climate. That is the sense inside 水土不服, which now covers a foreign brand that flops after a transplant just as readily as a stomach that protests after a move.

usage

The literal reading survives in environmental language: 水土流失 is the standard term for soil erosion, and 保持水土 for conservation work on slopes and riverbanks.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ

土 tǔ