地区 dìqū region
region; area (informal or geographical term); prefecture (in China's administrative system)
How to remember 地区: 地 ground + 区 area = region.
Characters
How it is used
- 地区 (dìqū) means "region/area," used for larger geographic or administrative zones: 亚太地区 (Yà-Tài dìqū, Asia-Pacific region), 山区地区 (mountain region).
- It's more formal than 地方 (dìfang), the everyday word for "place" - you'd use 地区 in news, weather reports, and official documents, not for "let's meet at this place."
- In China's administrative hierarchy, 地区 can also be a formal prefecture-level unit, distinct from provinces and cities.
- Common pattern: [name] + 地区, as a fixed geographic label rather than a casual noun phrase.
Example sentences
- 他的名字在这个地区人尽皆知。 Tā de míngzì zài zhège dìqū rénjǐnjiēzhī.His name is known to everybody in this area.
- 台风袭击了关东地区。 Táifēng xíjī le guāndōngdìqū.The typhoon struck the Kanto district.