on earth
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
used to emphasize a question or statement
Literally: on the planet
Register: neutral
Examples
I'm saying "For the sake of Earth's environment," but actually it's "For the sake of the people living on Earth."Tôi nói là "Vì môi trường của Trái Đất", nhưng thực ra nó là "Vì những người đang sống trên Trái Đất".
What on earth are you doing in my room?Cậu đang làm cái quái gì trong phòng tôi thế?
Tatoeba sentence #532838 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR A2); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “on earth” mean?
used to emphasize a question or statement Literally: on the planet
Is “on earth” formal or informal?
on earth is generally neutral.