田 shows a field viewed from above — a frame divided by a cross into four square plots. The internal cross represents the irrigation paths or footpaths between paddies. Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

The character is one of the most productive components in the entire script. As a radical it builds farming and field-shape vocabulary: 男 (man — historically "field-power", the laborer), 界 (boundary — what divides fields), 留 (stay — to remain in one's field), 番 (turn/number — taking turns at the field), 略 (strategy — survey of fields), 畑 (Japan-only kokuji: a dry field, contrasting with 田 wet rice paddy).

Mandarin: tián, rising 2nd tone. 田地 (tiándì, farmland), 田野 (tiányě, fields/countryside), 油田 (yóutián, oil field), 水田 (shuǐtián, paddy field). Also a major surname — particularly notable in Japan and China.

Japanese is where 田 lights up. The on-reading デン (den) appears in 田園 (denen, rural area). The kun-reading た (ta) is one of the densest surname-building components in Japanese: 田中 (Tanaka, "in the field" — extremely common), 山田 (Yamada, "mountain field"), 本田 (Honda, "true field" — yes, the car brand), 豊田 (Toyota, "abundant field" — yes, the other car brand), 吉田 (Yoshida, "lucky field"), 田村 (Tamura, "field village"). Reading Japanese surnames almost requires you to recognize 田 reflexively.

Memory aid: a square box with a plus-sign inside — a rice paddy seen from a hot-air balloon.