The ground, earth, or soil; the surface of the land.
庭の地を掘ったら水が出てきた。
When I dug up the ground in the garden, water came out.
地がぬかるんでいて歩きにくい。
The ground is muddy and hard to walk on.
そのプロジェクトは平らな地を必要とする。
That project requires flat ground.
The region or local area in question; the place being referred to.
この地では古くから祭りが続いている。
In this locality, festivals have continued since long ago.
彼はその地の気候に慣れている。
He is used to the climate of that region.
現地の人々はその地の伝統を大切にしている。
The local people cherish the traditions of the area.
Skin; the (natural) surface of the body—often appears in compounds like '地肌' (bare skin).
彼はスポーツで日焼けして地肌が黒くなった。
He got tanned from sports and his bare skin darkened.
シャンプーを変えたら地肌のかゆみが治まった。
After changing shampoo, the itching of my scalp subsided.
Texture, fabric, or material; the weave or type of cloth (appears in words like '布地').
このワンピースは柔らかい布地でできている。
This dress is made of soft fabric.
和服の地は薄くて透けやすいことがある。
Kimono fabric can be thin and sometimes see-through.
The base or background; an underlying layer or foundation (e.g., undercoat, groundwork).
絵を描くときはまず下地（地）を整えることが大切だ。
When painting, it's important to prepare the base (ground) first.
彼女の成功は確かな地があってのものだ。
Her success is built on a solid foundation.
One's true nature; the original character or disposition that shows through.
普段は穏やかな彼も、追い詰められると地が出る。
Even usually calm as he is, when cornered his true nature shows.
あの人は親切そうに見えるが、地を知ると違う面が分かる。
That person seems kind, but when you learn their true nature you see a different side.
Narrative or descriptive text in a story (the author's prose as opposed to characters' dialogue), as in '地の文'.
この小説は地の文が丁寧で情景が浮かびやすい。
This novel's narrative is careful and makes the scenes easy to imagine.
作者は地を短くして会話を増やすことにした。
The author decided to shorten the narration and increase the dialogue.
Real life or actuality; the real world or everyday life as contrasted with fiction or performance.
舞台の出来事と地の暮らしは大きく違う。
What happens on stage and life in the real world are very different.
彼は本の中だけでなく、地で同じ方法を試した。
He tried the same method not only in books but also in real life.
In the game of Go, territory that has been captured and counts as points (referred to as 'ji').
終局の計算で黒の地は白より二目多かった。
In the endgame count, Black had two more points of territory than White.
あの囲いは堅くて地を多く取れる。
That enclosure is solid and can secure a lot of territory.
In Noh theatre, the chorus (ji-utai) — the singers who provide choral accompaniment.
能の舞台では地が物語の雰囲気を作り出す。
On the Noh stage, the chorus creates the atmosphere of the story.
Accompaniment music used in Japanese dance; the instrumental ensemble that supports the dance (referred to as 'ji').
日本舞踊では三味線や太鼓が地を奏でる。
In Japanese dance, the shamisen and drums perform the accompaniment.
A basic, often repetitive musical phrase—especially in traditional Japanese music.
この曲は長い地のフレーズが続くので覚えやすい。
This piece continues with a long repetitive phrase, so it's easy to remember.
The base part played when multiple shamisen are combined—the foundational section (called 'ji').
合奏で三味線の地をそろえて演奏を始めた。
In ensemble, they aligned the shamisen's base part and began playing.