北方 meaning in English

běifāng

north; the northern part a country

HSK 2noun9 strokes

Meaning of 北方

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

běifāng

north
the northern part a country
China north of the Yellow River

How to use 北方

北方 can mean the direction north, but it very often means northern China as a region, contrasted with 南方 (nánfāng). Example: 我是北方人。 (Wǒ shì běifāng rén.) I am from northern China.

北 (běi) means north and 方 (fāng) means direction or side, so 北方 is simply the north side. Think of 北京 (Běijīng), the capital in the north, to lock in 北.

Common mistake: Learners confuse 北 (běi) with 比 (bǐ, compare), since both have two similar halves. Also, 方 in 北方 keeps its full first tone (fāng), unlike 地方 (dìfang), where 方 is usually neutral.

北方 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā们men都dōu说shuō我wǒ的de口kǒu音yīn像xiàng北běi方fāng人rén，但dàn我wǒ其qí实shí是shì南nán方fāng人rén。

They all say I sound like someone from the north, but I'm actually from the south.

南nán方fāng和hé北běi方fāng的de差chā异yì很hěn大dà。

The north differs greatly from the south.

在zài中zhōng国guó，南nán方fāng人rén以yǐ米mǐ饭fàn为wéi主zhǔ食shí，北běi方fāng人rén以yǐ面miàn食shí为wéi主zhǔ食shí。

In China, southern people eat rice as staple food; northern people eat wheaten food as staple food.

北běi方fāng的de春chūn天tiān送sòng来lái狂kuáng风fēng扫sǎo路lù。

Spring in the north sends gales to sweep the roads.

北běi海hǎi道dào在zài仙xiān台tái的de北běi方fāng。

Hokkaido is to the north of Sendai.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

北 běi · north · 5 strokes

方 fāng · square · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 北方.

地方	dìfang	region; regional (away from the central administration)
北京	Běijīng	Beijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (short name 京[Jing1])
北边	běibian	north; north side
方法	fāngfǎ	method; way; technique; procedure
方向	fāngxiàng	direction; orientation
方面	fāngmiàn	respect; aspect
方便	fāngbiàn	convenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy
南方	nánfāng	south; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of
西方	xīfāng	the West; the Occident
东方	dōngfāng	east
西北	xīběi	northwest
东北	dōngběi	northeast

Questions about 北方

What does 北方 mean?

北方 (běifāng) means "north; the northern part a country" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 北方?

北方 is made of 2 characters: 北 (5 strokes), 方 (4 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 北方 an HSK word?

Yes. 北方 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 北方 and 北边?

北边 (běibian) usually points to a direction or location relative to something, like north of a building. 北方 can do that too, but it is the normal word for a whole region, such as northern China.

Where does northern China begin?

In everyday talk, 北方 roughly means the area north of the Huai River and Qinling Mountains, and the dictionary also notes the sense of China north of the Yellow River. People often link it with wheat foods like noodles and dumplings.