北纬 (běi wěi) — northern latitude (geography)

Definition

Refers to latitudes north of the equator, expressed in degrees (e.g. 北纬三十度 = 30°N). The counterpart is 南纬 for the Southern Hemisphere.

noun

northern latitude (geography)

北纬。
Zhè zuò chéng shì wèi yú běi wěi sān shí dù fù jìn.
This city is located near 30 degrees north latitude.
北纬。
běi wěi Dì qū dōng jì cháng cháng hěn hán lěng.
Winter in northern latitude regions is often very cold.
北纬。
Kǎo chá duì jiāng qián wǎng běi wěi sì shí dù jìn xíng kē xué kān cè.
The expedition team will head to 40 degrees north latitude for scientific surveying.

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.

纬wěilatitude

北 indicates north and 纬 latitude, so it means northern latitude.

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'.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緯; 纬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

韋

韋wéi緯wěi

Same sound today

The traditional form 緯 has 糸, thread, on the left and 韋 on the right for the sound. The simplified 纬 is a later shorthand.

Appears in