北
north; (classical) to be defeated
5 strokes
Dict coverage rank #163 U+5317
How 北 is formed
Pictograph (象形字)
Two people 匕 sitting back-to-back; phonetic loan for "north"
components: 匕
? unknown part
How to remember it
north · Heisig RSH #454
someone sitting on the ground
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 北 as their sound component
These characters all use 北 (běi) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 北 sound component | běi | north; northern; northward |
| 背 | bèi | back, backside; to betray, to violate |
| 邶 | bèi | a place in Henan province |
Words containing 北
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中北大学 | Zhōng běi Dà xué | North University of China (Shanxi) |
| 西北大学 | Xī běi Dà xué | Northwest University |
| 市北区 | Shì běi Qū | Shibei, a district of Qingdao City 青島市|青岛市[Qing1 dao3 Shi4], Shandong |
| 北海市 | Běi hǎi Shì | Beihai, prefecture-level city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 廣西壯族自治區|广西壮族自治区[Guang3 x… |
| 北安市 | Běi ān Shì | Bei'an, a county-level city in Heihe City 黑河市[Hei1 he2 Shi4], Heilongjiang |
| 天南地北 | tiān nán dì běi | (idiom) far apart; (idiom) from different places; from all over; (idiom) (to talk) about t… |
| 东北大学 | Dōng běi Dà xué | Northeastern University (in Shenyang 瀋陽市|沈阳市[Shen3 yang2 shi4], Liaoning); Tōhoku Universi… |
| 天南海北 | tiān nán hǎi běi | see 天南地北[tian1 nan2 di4 bei3] |
| 西北工业大学 | Xī běi Gōng yè Dà xué | Northwestern Polytechnical University |
| 北大 | Běi Dà | Peking University (abbr. for 北京大學|北京大学) |
| 平安北道 | Píng ān běi dào | North P'yong'an Province in west of North Korea, adjacent to Liaoning |
| 东南西北中 | dōng nán xī běi zhōng | the five directions 五方 east, south, west, north and middle |
| 新北区 | Xīn běi Qū | Xinbei, a district of Changzhou City 常州市[Chang2 zhou1 Shi4], Jiangsu |
| 城北区 | Chéng běi Qū | Chengbei, a district of Xining City 西寧市|西宁市[Xi1 ning2 Shi4], Qinghai |
| 北国 | běi guó | the northern part of the country; the North |
| 北山 | Běi shān | northern mountain; refers to Mt Mang 邙山 at Luoyang in Henan |
| 北海道 | Běi hǎi dào | Hokkaidō, Japan |
| 新北市 | Xīn běi shì | New Taipei City, administrative district in north Taiwan, formerly 臺北縣|台北县[Tai2 bei3 Xian4… |
| 北市 | Běi Shì | (Tw) Taipei (abbr. for 臺北市|台北市[Tai2 bei3 Shi4]) |
| 市北 | Shì běi | see 市北區|市北区[Shi4 bei3 Qu1] |