田 tián field
field; farm
How it came to be
A field seen from above, cut into four plots by the paths between them. The grid is the paths, not the crop.
How it is used
- Field/farmland - 农田 (nóngtián) farmland, 稻田 (dàotián) a rice paddy, 种田 to farm.
- 田径 (tiánjìng) = track and field (田 = field events, 径 = track events) - a sports term.
- 田野 (tiányě) / 田园 (tiányuán) = the countryside/rural fields (田园生活 a pastoral life).
- Also a surname; the character pictures a divided field.