南 (nán): south
南 (nán) is a Chinese character meaning “south.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 十 (structural), 冂 (structural), 丷 (structural) and 干 (structural). It ranks #307 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 南 a musical bell. Its radical form 十 (ten) appears in many related characters such as 十 (shí, ten), 午 (wǔ, 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse), 半 (bàn, half).
Definitions
- south
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA musical bell
Decomposition: ⿱十⿵冂⿱丷干 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 南 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 南
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 南方noun | nán fāng | south | 3 |
| 南部noun | nán bù | southern part | 4 |
| 西南noun | xī nán | southwest | 3 |
| 东南noun | dōng nán | southeast | 3 |
| 南美洲noun | nán měi zhōu | South America | 6 |
| 南极洲noun | nán jí zhōu | Antarctica | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 越南proper-noun | yuè nán | Vietnam |
| 南瓜noun | nán guā | pumpkin |
| 指南noun | zhǐ nán | to guide |
| 南边noun | nán bian | south |
| 布坎南 | bù kǎn nán | (surname) Buchanan |
| 南美proper-noun | nán měi | South America |
| 南非proper-noun | nán fēi | South Africa |
| 南极proper-noun | nán jí | the South Pole |
| 南面noun | nán miàn | south side |
| 南希proper-noun | nán xī | Nancy |
| 指南针noun | zhǐ nán zhēn | compass |
| 南京proper-noun | nán jīng | Nanjing, capital of the Ming dynasty (1368–1421) and of the Republic of China (1927–1937 an... |
| 南韩proper-noun | nán hán | (Tw, HK) South Korea |
| 南北noun | nán běi | north and south |
| 西南部 | xī nán bù | southwest part |
南 appears in 109 compound words: 47 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 5 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 南 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (24)
Lament for the South, long poem in Fu style by Yu Xin 庾信 mourning the passing of Liang of the Southern dynasties 南朝梁朝
Annamite Range, aka Annamese Cordillera, mountain range forming the border between Vietnam and Laos
Treaty of Nanjing (1842) that concluded the First Opium War between Qing China and Britain
Nanputuo Temple (a Buddhist temple in Siming district, Xiamen, Fujian, China); South Putuo Temple
southern intonation and northern tones; an idiolect or accent with features from more than one language variety
Lament for the South, long poem in Fu style by Yu Xin 庾信 mourning the passing of Liang of the Southern dynasties 南朝梁朝
Annamite Range, aka Annamese Cordillera, mountain range forming the border between Vietnam and Laos
Showing 12 of 24 idioms containing 南.
Example Sentences
他做事一向认真负责，从不马虎。
Tā zuòshì yīxiàng rènzhēn fùzé, cóng bù mǎhu.
He has always been serious and responsible in his work, never careless.
(新春走基层)福建屏南:古桥“万安”横碧水 乡宴“..
( xīn chūn zǒu jī céng ) fú jiàn bǐng nán : gǔ qiáo wàn ān héng bì shuǐ xiāng yàn . .
(New Year at the grassroots level) Pingnan, Fujian: Guqiao "Wan'an" Hengbi Water Township Banquet":
一马当先南京年|站台上演“暖心接力”,南京人合力护...
yī mǎ dāng xiān nán jīng nián zhàn tái shǎng yǎn nuǎn xīn jiē lì , nán jīng rén gě lì hù . . .
A horse is the first Nanjing year | platform staged a "warm hearted relay", Nanjing people join forces to protect...
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
Philippine Maritime Police caught dropping unidentified objects in the South China Sea, surveillance footage released
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught red-handed! Philippine Coast Guard deploys unidentified objects in the South China Sea
菲律宾海警在我南沙群岛附近海域扔下两个黑色桶状物,..
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài wǒ nán shā qún dǎo fù jìn hǎi yù rēng xià liǎng gě hēi sè tǒng zhuàng wù , . .
The Philippine Coast Guard dropped two black barrel-shaped objects in waters near our Spratly Islands...
请问河南中路五十二弄在什么地方？
Qǐngwèn Hénán zhōnglù wǔshí èr nòng zài shénmedìfang?
Excuse me, where is 52 south river street?
上周末过得怎么样，南希？
Shàng zhōumò guòdé zěnmeyàng, Nánxī?
How was last weekend, Nancy?
去南韩的机票多少钱？
Qù Nánhán de jīpiào duōshao qián?
How much is a plane ticket to South Korea?
告诉我你对湘南做了什么。
Gàosu wǒ nǐ duì Xiāngnán zuò le shénme.
Tell me what you did to Shounan.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 南 (nán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 南 and 北?
How many strokes does 南 have?
What is the radical of 南?
What are the components of 南?
What are common words containing 南?
What characters sound the same as 南 (nán)?
Is 南 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 南 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.