How to Write 坪 (píng) — Meaning “level ground / plain / terrace”

Think of a flat, grassy field where you can play ping-pong (the sound is like píng). The left side 土 is dirt, and the right side 平 is flat—so picture a flat dirt area used for a ping-pong table in a park.

The left part 土 has three strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, with the vertical line crossing through the middle of the two horizontals. The right part 平 has five strokes: first the top horizontal, then a small left-to-right dot above the horizontal, then the vertical hook, and finally two horizontal strokes—be careful not to make the vertical hook too long.

While 在 (zài) means 'to be at' or 'exist' and has the radical 土, its right side is different (a distorted 才). 圩 (wéi or xū) means 'dyke' or 'market,' and its right side is 于. 坪 specifically refers to a flat, open area of ground, such as a lawn or an apron at an airport, and is not used as a verb or for man-made embankments.

You often see 坪 in words like 草坪 (cǎo píng, lawn) and 停机坪 (tíng jī píng, aircraft parking area). It appears in place names for flat plains or village squares, especially in rural China, and is useful when talking about outdoor flat spaces for activities or parking.

Common words containing 坪 include: 草坪 (cǎo píng) — Lawn; grass plot.; 停机坪 (tíng jī píng) — apron; tarmac; helipad; 坪坝 (píng bà) — level ground / small plain.