Meaning
land, shore, continent — This character refers to land as opposed to sea, often used in words related to terrain, continents, and disembarkation.
- 陸上 — land, track and field
- 大陸 — continent
- 内陸 — inland
- 陸軍 — army
- 上陸 — landing (ashore)
陸 combines the meanings of “elevated earth” (阝) and “stop/mark” (坴), originally indicating a high, dry area or plateau. Over time, it came to represent “land” more generally and is often contrasted with sea or air in compound words.
船は 陸に上がった。
The ship landed ashore.
彼は 陸軍に所属している。
He belongs to the army.
🎧 The character 陸 is pronounced リク (riku) in all common cases. It has no commonly used kun-yomi. You'll see this reading in both native and Sino-Japanese words dealing with terrain and the military.