北方 (běi fāng) — north; the northern part (of a region or country)

Definition

北方 means 'the north' as a region — typically the area of China north of the Yellow River, used with 在/的. Use 北 alone for compass directions (e.g. 往北走); 北方 is the noun for the place.

noun
norththe northern part (of a region or country)

Examples

  • 北方
    Wǒ zhù zài běi fāng, dōng tiān hěn lěng.
    I live in the north; the winter is very cold.
  • 北方
    běi fāng Rén xǐ huan chī miàn shí.
    Northerners like to eat wheat-based foods.
  • 北方
    Běi jīng zài zhōng guó de běi fāng.
    Beijing is in the north of China.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

běinorth
fāngdirection; place

The first part gives the direction north, and the second part means direction or place, so together it is the north.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

Open 北 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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