How to say “the south” in Chinese

南方

nánfāng

the south (of a country)

noun · HSK 3 · topic “City and travel”

“The south” in Chinese is 南方, nán fāng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

南方 is read nán fāng: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

nán — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

fāng — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

How to write it

南

nán — south

方

fāng — square; side

It hints at the sound in 房 and 放. In 地方 it is read with the neutral tone: fang.

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 “南方”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 南方. Tap the sound icon to listen.

北方比南方冷běifāngbǐnánfānglěngThe north is colder than the south.
你是南方人吗？nǐshìnánfāngrénmaAre you from the south?
我坐高铁去南方。wǒzuògāotiěqùnánfāngI'm taking the high-speed train to the south.
我们以前是同学，后来他去了南方。wǒmenyǐqiánshìtóngxué,hòuláitāqùlenánfāngWe used to be classmates, and later he moved south.
我老家在南方。wǒlǎojiāzàinánfāngI'm from the south.
北方人爱吃馒头和面条儿，南方人爱吃米饭。běifāngrénàichīmántouhémiàntiáor,nánfāngrénàichīmǐfànNortherners love mantou and noodles, and southerners love rice.

More words from the lesson “Northeast, southwest”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “the south” in Chinese?

“The south” in Chinese is 南方, pinyin nánfāng.

What does 南方 mean?

南方 (nánfāng) means “the south (of a country)”.

How do you write 南方?

南方 is 2 characters: 南 (nán) — south; 方 (fāng) — square; side. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 南方?

南方 is read nánfāng. Tones: nán — second tone, fāng — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“the south” in the lesson “Northeast, southwest”

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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