丘陵 (qiū líng) refers to low, rounded elevations of land that are higher than hills but lower and less steep than mountains. The character 丘 means 'mound' or 'small hill', often evoking gentle, dome-shaped landforms, while 陵 means 'hill', 'mound', or historically 'imperial tomb' — here reinforcing the idea of elevated, natural terrain. Together, 丘陵 emphasizes a landscape of undulating, relatively low relief, commonly found between plains and mountainous regions.

This term is used primarily in geography, geology, and environmental descriptions. It appears frequently in textbooks, travel writing, and regional planning documents to characterize terrain types. Unlike isolated hills (小山), 丘陵 usually implies a broader, interconnected area of rolling topography — for example, the Southeast China 丘陵 region, known for its red soil and tea plantations. It carries a neutral, formal register and is rarely used in casual speech about small backyard mounds.