ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

北 běi north

How to remember 北: 匕 spoon + 匕 spoon = north. The campers stir the soup with one spoon, point the handle of the other at the stars and argue about which way is north.

  • 315. most frequent character
  • HSK 3
  • 5 strokes
  • Radical 匕

Component breakdown

北 = 匕 spoon + 匕 spoon

  • 匕 spoon
  • 匕 spoon
The Gushi story

The campers stir the soup with one spoon, point the handle of the other at the stars and argue about which way is north.

How it came to be

Two people standing back to back, turned away from each other. A house in China faces south, so the back of everything faces north: the direction is the back, and the character is two backs.

How it is used

  • North - 北方 (běifāng) the north, 北边 (běibian) the north side; in addresses, direction words follow this compass logic.
  • Combines freely: 东北 (dōngběi) northeast, 西北 (xīběi) northwest, 北极 (běijí) the North Pole.
  • Word-order note: Chinese says 东北/西北 (east-north), the reverse of English 'northeast'.
  • Rare verb reading bèi 'to be defeated' survives in 败北 (bàiběi) to lose/be defeated - worth knowing but not the HSK sense.

Characters built with 北

Words with 北

Example sentences

  • 咱们北京见！ Zánmen Běijīng jiàn!Let's meet in Beijing.
  • 我去过北京。 Wǒ qùguò Běijīng.I've been to Beijing.
  • 北京是中国的首都。 Běijīng shì Zhōngguó de shǒudū.Beijing is China's capital.
  • 天安门广场位于北京市中心。 Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng wèiyú Běijīng Shì zhōngxīn.Tiananmen Square is in the center of Beijing.