Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 耕種 / 耕种 | gēngzhòng |
| 種植 / 种植 | zhòngzhí |
In Chinese, the choice of word for cultivate depends on whether you are emphasizing the labor of preparing the land or the biological act of planting. Use 耕種 / 耕种 to emphasize the agricultural labor of plowing and tilling the soil to prepare it for crops. Use 種植 / 种植 when the focus is on the biological process of planting and growing specific plants, such as trees, flowers or various types of vegetation.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 耕種 / 耕种 is composed of two parts: 耕 (gēng), which means to plow or till the land and 種 (zhòng), which refers to seeds or the act of planting.
Which one should you use?
耕種 / 耕种 (gēngzhòng) focuses specifically on the act of plowing and tilling the soil to prepare for crops. In contrast, 種植 / 种植 (zhòngzhí) focuses on the act of planting the seeds or saplings themselves and is a more general term that can be used for various types of vegetation, including trees and flowers.
How do you pronounce it?
gēngzhòng
Did you know?
- While 耕種 / 耕种 describes farming, the word 耕 is also used metaphorically in the phrase 耕心 (gēngxīn), meaning to 'plow the heart'. This describes the process of cultivating one's mind or spirit through discipline and study.
- The character 耕 (gēng) contains the radical 耒, which began as a pictograph of a wooden plow. This ancient symbol highlights how critical the plow was to the development of early Chinese civilization.
- In Chinese culture, the phrase 耕讀傳家 (gēngdú chuánjiā) describes an ideal family legacy of 'farming and studying'. This reflects a historical social balance where agricultural labor and scholarly pursuit were seen as the two pillars of a virtuous life.
Examples in context
- 培育人才是我们公司的长期目标。Cultivating talents is our company's long-term goal.
- 这个地区以栽培高品质的苹果而闻名。This region is famous for cultivating high-quality apples.
- 培养兴趣和创造力对孩子的成长非常重要。Cultivating interests and creativity is crucial for a child's development.
- 在这个新项目中，我们需要共同培育团队合作精神。In this new project, we need to cultivate a spirit of teamwork together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cultivate” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
