Meaning of 北
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- north
- (classical) to be defeated
How to use 北
北 (běi) means north and appears in many place names and direction words like 北京 (Běijīng), 北方 (běifāng), and 东北 (dōngběi). It usually combines with other characters rather than standing alone. Example: 我住在北京。(Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng.) I live in Beijing.
北 (běi) looks like two people sitting back to back, facing away from each other. Picture them turning their backs to the cold north wind.
Common mistake: Learners often say 北东 for northeast, but Chinese puts east or west first: 东北 (dōngběi) and 西北 (xīběi). Also be careful not to confuse 北 with 比 (bǐ, to compare), which looks similar but has two parts facing the same direction.
北 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
北 běi · north · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 北.
| 北京 | Běijīng | Beijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (short name 京[Jing1]) |
| 北边 | běibian | north; north side |
| 北方 | běifāng | north; the northern part a country |
| 西北 | xīběi | northwest |
| 东北 | dōngběi | northeast |
| 北部 | běibù | northern part |
| 北极 | běijí | the North Pole; the north magnetic pole |
| 南北 | nánběi | north and south; north to south |
| 北极熊 | běijíxióng | polar bear |
| 北面 | běimiàn | northern side; north |
| 北上 | běishàng | to go up north |
| 以北 | yǐběi | to the north of (suffix) |
Questions about 北
What does 北 mean?
北 (běi) means "north; (classical) to be defeated" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 北?
北 is made of 1 character: 北 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 北 an HSK word?
Yes. 北 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 北方 and 北边?
北方 (běifāng) often means the northern region of a country, like northern China as a cultural area. 北边 (běibian) is more about the north side of a specific place, such as 学校北边 (xuéxiào běibian), north of the school.
Why does 北 also mean to be defeated?
In classical Chinese, 北 could mean to be defeated or to flee in defeat. You still see this in the word 败北 (bàiběi), to suffer defeat, but in everyday speech 北 almost always means north.