also: こうど
noun
Only with reading おうど
Geological term for wind-blown silt sediment. Used in scientific and geographical contexts.
中国の黄土高原は、厚い黄土層で知られている。
The Loess Plateau in China is known for its thick loess deposits.
noun
yellow ochre; yellow ocher
Only with reading おうど
A natural earth pigment. Used in art, painting, and sometimes in traditional contexts.
この壁画には黄土が使われている。
Yellow ochre is used in this mural.
noun
Only with reading こうど
Archaic Buddhist term for the realm of the dead. Only used with the reading こうど. Not used in modern Japanese outside of historical or religious texts.
古典では「黄土」を「こうど」と読み、冥界を指すことがある。
In classical texts, 黄土 is read as こうど and can refer to the underworld.
黄泉 is the more common native Japanese word for the underworld or land of the dead, while 黄土 (こうど) is an archaic Buddhist term.
The kanji 黄 (yellow) and 土 (earth) directly describe the color and material. The reading おうど is the standard Sino-Japanese reading. The archaic reading こうど for the underworld sense is a specialized Buddhist term; its exact derivation is uncertain.