Ōuzhōu (Europe) is a proper noun referring to the continent located west of Asia and north of Africa. The character 欧 (Ōu) is a phonetic transliteration of 'Eu-' from 'Europe', while 洲 (zhōu) means 'continent' or 'large landmass surrounded by water' — a common suffix in Chinese geographical names like 亚洲 (Yàzhōu, Asia) and 非洲 (Fēizhōu, Africa). Together, they form a standard, formal term used in maps, news, education, and official contexts.

This word is always written as a single unit and never split in usage. It’s neutral in register — appropriate for both spoken and written Chinese — and frequently appears in phrases like 欧洲国家 (European countries), 欧洲杯 (European Championship), or 欧洲旅行 (a trip to Europe). Unlike English, Chinese does not use articles ('the') before 欧洲; it stands alone as a proper noun without modifiers unless specifying a subset (e.g., 西欧, Western Europe).