Meaning of 都市
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- city; metropolis
How to use 都市
都市 sounds more literary and stylish than 城市 (chéngshì). You will often see it in writing, media, and set phrases like 都市生活 (urban life) or 大都市 (big metropolis). Example: 上海是一个国际大都市。 Shànghǎi shì yí gè guójì dà dūshì. Shanghai is an international metropolis.
都 (dū) is the 都 in 首都 (shǒudū), a capital, and 市 (shì) is a market or city, as in 市场 (shìchǎng). Picture a capital full of busy markets and you have 都市, a big city or metropolis.
Common mistake: Learners often read 都 as dōu, the word for "all," but in 都市 and 首都 it is read dū. Also, do not use 都市 for small towns. Use 城市 or 城镇 instead.
都市 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.
都 dōu · all · 10 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 9
- 10
市 shì · market · 5 strokes
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- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 都市.
| 市长 | shìzhǎng | mayor |
| 超市 | chāoshì | supermarket (abbr. for 超級市場|超级市场[chao1 ji2 shi4 chang3]) |
| 城市 | chéngshì | city; town |
| 市场 | shìchǎng | marketplace; market; bazaar; (economics) market |
| 首都 | shǒudū | capital (city) |
| 市区 | shìqū | urban district; downtown |
| 全都 | quándōu | all; without exception |
| 大都 | dàdū | for the most part; on the whole |
| 市民 | shìmín | city resident; townspeople |
| 上市 | shàngshì | to hit the market (of a new product); to float (a company on the stock market) |
| 股市 | gǔshì | stock market |
| 夜市 | yèshì | night market |
Questions about 都市
What does 都市 mean?
都市 (dūshì) means "city; metropolis" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 都市?
都市 is made of 2 characters: 都 (10 strokes), 市 (5 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 都市 an HSK word?
Yes. 都市 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 都市 and 城市?
城市 (chéngshì) is the everyday, neutral word for any city or town. 都市 (dūshì) points to a large, modern metropolis and has a more literary or fashionable feel. In casual speech, 城市 is far more common.
What does 都市剧 or 都市人 mean?
都市剧 (dūshì jù) is a TV drama set in modern city life, a very common genre label in China. 都市人 (dūshì rén) means city dwellers or urbanites, often with a sense of fast-paced modern living.