Browse "Places" Characters

Every character has an origin. Discover the pictographs, myths, and history behind each Chinese character — with pinyin, stroke order, HSK level, and audio pronunciation.

商人

shāng rén

'Shāng rén' literally combines 'shāng' (commerc

商店

shāng diàn

'Shāngdiàn' literally combines 'shāng' (commerc

商业

shāng yè

'商业' (shāng yè) is a compound noun meaning 'bu

哪边

nǎ biān

哪边 literally combines 哪 (nǎ), meaning 'which',

哪儿

nǎr

'Nǎr' is a colloquial, contracted form of 'nǎ l

哪里

nǎ lǐ

哪里 (nǎ lǐ) is an interrogative pronoun meaning

哪儿呢

nǎr ne

'哪儿呢' (nǎr ne) is a colloquial, contracted for

北半球

běi bànqiú

‘Běi bànqiú’ literally means ‘north half-sph

北面

běimiàn

‘北面’ literally combines 北 (běi, 'north') and

北风

běifēng

‘Běifēng’ literally means ‘north wind’—a co

北极

běijí

北极 (běijí) literally means 'north extreme' —

北方

běifāng

北方 literally means 'north direction' — 北 (běi

六合

liù hé

‘Liù hé’ literally means ‘the six directions

八方

bā fāng

‘八方’ literally means ‘eight directions’—the

先辈

xiān bèi

‘先辈’ (xiān bèi) literally combines 先 (xiān

候车

hòu chē

'Hòu chē' literally combines 'hòu' (to wait, to

气候

qì hòu

Climate refers to the long-term average of weather

直属系

zhí shǔ xì

'直属系' literally combines '直' (direct), '属' (t

化学系

huà xué xì

化学系 (huà xué xì) literally means 'chemistry

住宿

zhù sù

‘住宿’ (zhù sù) is a compound noun meaning ‘a

住处

zhù chù

‘住处’ (zhù chù) is a compound noun meaning 'p

住所

zhù suǒ

‘住所’ (zhù suǒ) literally combines ‘住’ (zh

住房

zhù fáng

‘住房’ (zhù fáng) literally combines ‘住’ (t

敞亮

chǎng liàng

敞亮 (chǎng liàng) is a compound adjective forme

明亮

míng liàng

明亮 (míng liàng) is an adjective meaning 'brigh

京味儿

jīng wèir

'Jīng wèir' literally combines 'jīng' (capital,

京津

jīng jīn

‘京津’ is a geographical abbreviation formed by

京师

jīng shī

‘京师’ is a classical Chinese term meaning 'impe

京城

jīng chéng

京城 literally means 'capital city'—'京' (jīng)

南京

Nán jīng

Nanjing is the name of a major city in eastern Chi

北京

Běi jīng

Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Repub

九州

jiǔ zhōu

‘九州’ (jiǔ zhōu) literally means ‘Nine Provi

那里

nà lǐ

那里 (nà lǐ) is a demonstrative pronoun meaning

那儿

nà ér

‘那儿’ (nà ér) is a colloquial pronoun meaning

那边

nà biān

那边 (nà biān) literally combines 那 (nà), mean

四通八达

sì tōng bā dá

‘Sì tōng bā dá’ literally means ‘four thoro

四书

sì shū

‘Sì Shū’ (The Four Books) refers to a foundati

四面八方

sì miàn bā fāng

‘Sì miàn bā fāng’ literally means ‘four sur

四海

sì hǎi

‘Sì hǎi’ literally means ‘four seas,’ a clas

天空

tiān kōng

天空 (tiān kōng) literally combines 天 (tiān),