tin4 dei6田地
Jyutpingtin4 dei6
Yaletìhn deih
Definition
Agricultural land or fields; also used figuratively to mean a wretched situation or plight.
- farmland; cultivated land; fields
- figurativea wretched situation; plight; state of affairs
neutralnatureother
How it's used
Beyond the literal meaning of agricultural land, this word is frequently used metaphorically to describe a person's difficult or hopeless situation. When someone is in a dire state, you might hear people say someone has fallen into a bad field, implying they are stuck in a predicament with no easy way out.
Measure word
faai3塊faiExamples
The fields in the countryside have been abandoned for a long time.
Their whole family makes a living by farming these fields.
Related words
Common phrases
to reclaim land for farming
to let fields go to waste
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the word 土地, which is a general term for land or soil. 田地 specifically implies land that is or was intended for agricultural use, whereas 土地 is neutral and can refer to any plot of ground, including urban building sites.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
