How to say “north” in Chinese
north
“North” in Chinese is 北, běi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
北 is read běi. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Two people sitting back to back.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “北”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 北. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 东南西北dōngnánxīběieast, south, west, north
- 我家在中国的东北。wǒjiāzàiZhōngguódedōngběiMy home is in the northeast of China.
- 机场在西北边jīchǎngzàixīběibianThe airport is in the northwest.
- 我是北方人。wǒshìběifāngrénI'm from the north.
- 北方比南方冷běifāngbǐnánfānglěngThe north is colder than the south.
- 北方的冬天很冷běifāngdedōngtiānhěnlěngWinter in the north is cold.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “The four directions”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “north” in Chinese?
“North” in Chinese is 北, pinyin běi.
What does 北 mean?
北 (běi) means “north”.
How do you write 北?
北 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 北?
北 is read běi. Tones: běi — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“north” in the lesson “The four directions”
This word is from the topic “City and travel” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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