Earth and places with

The kanji has the core meanings of ground, earth, and land. It extends to place, region, and locations spread across the world. It often marks where something is situated or the earthly surface on which things happen.

Etymology

This kanji is a phono-semantic compound comprised of 土 (earth) as the semantic component and 也 as the phonetic component (チ).

Places and Regions

(Ground)

地面(じめん) means the ground, whether soil or a paved surface.

It combines 地 (ground) with (surface) to show the surface of the ground.

Manga panel from くノ一ツバキの胸の内 showing example of Not just evaporation with 〜どころか.
くノ一ツバキの胸の内 » Volume 1 » Page 85

Sazanka is worried that Tsubaki’s abilities go awry when she hears the word “man”. To test this, Sazanka leads Tsubaki to a puddle of water and challenges her to evaporate it with a fire technique, during which Sazanka will whisper “man” into Tsubaki’s ear. The result is Tsubaki’s ability intensifying in power.

サザンカ:
蒸発(じょうはつ)どころか…地面(じめん)(えぐ)れてる…」
“Not just evaporation, even the ground is gouged.”
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(Map)

地図(ちず) means a map. It is a drawn representation of land, roads, or spatial relationships.

It combines 地 (ground) with 図 (diagram) to show a drawn layout of land.

Manga panel from ARIA The MASTERPIECE showing example of No time to return to headquarters with 本部.
ARIA The MASTERPIECE » Volume 3 » Page 286

Akari encounters Woody while he’s out on a delivery run. He stopped to show off for some kids, but in the process, he seems to have lost his city map, and he has a terrible sense of direction. Akari asks if he has the delivery addresses, which he says he does.

ウッディー:
「でも 本部(ほんぶ)まで地図(ちず)()りに(もど)時間(じかん)がないのだぁ!」
“But I don't have time to go back to headquarters to get a map!!”
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(Feel for a place)

土地勘(とちかん) means familiarity with an area and its geography.

It combines 土 (land), 地 (ground), and 勘 (intuition) to express feel for a place.

Manga panel from ふらいんぐうぃっち showing example of Exploring the neighborhood with 探索.
ふらいんぐうぃっち » Volume 1 » Page 91

Not long after moving to a new town to stay with relatives, Makoto decides to head out for a walk. Her cousin is worried she’ll get lost. Makoto says not to worry, because she’ll have her witch familiar cat, Chito, with her.

真琴(まこと):
(じつ)はチトさん この(へん)色々(いろいろ)探索(たんさく)してたみたいで(わたし)よりも土地勘(とちかん)があるんですよ」
“Actually, Chito seems to have explored this area quite a bit, so she knows her way around better than I do.”
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(Atlas)

地図帳(ちずちょう) means an atlas or bound collection of maps.

It combines 地図 (map) with 帳 (notebook) to show a book of maps.

Manga panel from 名探偵コナン showing example of A pair of binoculars among other items with 双眼鏡.
名探偵コナン » Volume 4 » Page 117

Ayumi leaves the bag with her new Masked Yaiba doll outside while she’s in the restroom. When she returns, she finds the bag waiting for her, but the doll is gone. Ran suggests someone may have taken her bag by mistake. Genta decides to see what’s in the bag Ayumi brought back, dumping its contents onto the ground.

元太(げんた):
「えーっと… 地図帳(ちずちょう)双眼鏡(そうがんきょう)に…」
“Um... an atlas, binoculars...”
懐中電灯(かいちゅうでんとう)…」
“...a flashlight...”
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Shapes and Structures

(Map)

地図(ちず) means a map. It is a drawn representation of land, roads, or spatial relationships.

It combines 地 (ground) with 図 (diagram) to show a drawn layout of land.

Manga panel from ARIA The MASTERPIECE showing example of No time to return to headquarters with 本部.
ARIA The MASTERPIECE » Volume 3 » Page 286

Akari encounters Woody while he’s out on a delivery run. He stopped to show off for some kids, but in the process, he seems to have lost his city map, and he has a terrible sense of direction. Akari asks if he has the delivery addresses, which he says he does.

ウッディー:
「でも 本部(ほんぶ)まで地図(ちず)()りに(もど)時間(じかん)がないのだぁ!」
“But I don't have time to go back to headquarters to get a map!!”
View Full Example