北 (běi): north, (classical) to be defeated
北 (běi) is a Chinese character meaning “north.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 匕 (structural). It ranks #315 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 北 two people 匕 sitting back-to-back; phonetic loan for "north". Its radical form 匕 (spoon) appears in many related characters such as 化 (huà, to make into), 匙 (chí, spoon).
Definitions
- north
- (classical) to be defeated
Etymology & Origin
pictographicTwo people 匕 sitting back-to-back; phonetic loan for "north"
Stroke Order
Practice writing 北 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 北
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 北方noun | běi fāng | north | 3 |
| 北部noun | běi bù | northern part | 4 |
| 西北noun | xī běi | northwest | 3 |
| 北极noun | běi jí | the North Pole | 6 |
| 东北noun | dōng běi | northeast | 3 |
| 北美洲noun | běi měi zhōu | North America | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 北边 | běi biān | north |
| 北美 | běi měi | North America |
| 北京 | běi jīng | Beijing municipality, capital of the People's Republic of China (abbr. to 京[Jing1]) |
| 北面 | běi miàn | northern side |
| 北约 | běi yuē | NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) (abbr. for 北大西洋公約組織|北大西洋公约组织[Bei3 Da4 xi1 Yang2 Gong1 yue1 Zu3 zhi1]) |
| 北斗 | běi dǒu | Great Bear |
| 北欧 | běi ōu | north Europe |
| 北上 | běi shàng | to go up north |
| 南北 | nán běi | north and south |
| 北纬 | běi wěi | north latitude |
| 北非 | běi fēi | North Africa |
| 北大 | běi dà | Peking University (abbr. for 北京大學|北京大学) |
| 北海 | běi hǎi | North Sea (in Europe) |
| 败北 | bài běi | (literary) to be routed (in a war) |
| 北侧 | běi cè | north side |
北 appears in 100 compound words: 73 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 北 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (25)
Showing 12 of 25 idioms containing 北.
Example Sentences
了解北字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè běi zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "北" (north) helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
英超|北伦敦打吡阿仙奴作客4:1胜热刺 伊斯、约...
yīng chāo běi lún dūn dǎ 吡 ā xiān nú zuò kè 4 : 1 shèng rè cì yī sī , yuē . . .
Premier League|North London Derby Arsenal defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4:1 as a guest.
河北男孩放寒假每天睡到中午12点,爸爸不许家...
hé běi nán hái fàng hán jiǎ měi tiān shuì dào zhōng wǔ 1 2 diǎn , bà bà bù xǔ jiā . . .
Hebei boy sleeps until 12 noon every day during winter vacation, and his father is not allowed to go home...
千城百县看中国·护航春运丨河北交通:智慧高速守护假..
qiān chéng bǎi xiàn kàn zhōng guó hù háng chūn yùn 丨 hé běi jiāo tōng : zhì huì gāo sù shǒu hù jiǎ . .
Thousands of cities and counties look at China and escort the Spring Festival丨Hebei Transportation: Smart highway guards the holiday:
寻马记|能看到86匹灵动骏马的北齐壁画博物馆
xún mǎ jì néng kàn dào 8 6 pǐ líng dòng jùn mǎ de běi qí bì huà bó wù guǎn
The Northern Qi Mural Museum where you can see 86 smart horses
北京海淀:春晚同款机器人返场,硬核科技“打...
běi jīng hǎi diàn : chūn wǎn tóng kuǎn jī qì rén fǎn chǎng , yìng hé kē jì dǎ . . .
Beijing Haidian: The same robot returns to the Spring Festival Gala, and hard-core technology "fights...
你们家去北海道旅游是真的么？我羡慕你。
Nǐmen jiā qù Běihǎidào lǚyóu shì zhēn de me? wǒ xiànmù nǐ.
Is it true that your family will travel in Hokkaido? I envy you.
顺便问一句，你们已经去过北海道了吗？
Shùnbiàn wèn yījù, nǐmen yǐjīng qù guo Běihǎidào le ma?
By the way, have you ever been to Hokkaido?
上海有什么不如北京的方面吗？
Shànghǎi yǒu shénme bù rú Běijīng de fāngmiàn ma?
Are there any aspects of Shanghai that are not as good as those of Beijing?
你喜欢住在北海道吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan zhù zài Běihǎidào ma?
Did you enjoy staying in Hokkaido?
Character Family
匕 Radical Family — Characters sharing the spoon radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 北 (běi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 北 and 南?
How many strokes does 北 have?
What is the radical of 北?
What are the components of 北?
What are common words containing 北?
What characters sound the same as 北 (běi)?
Is 北 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 北 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.