Chinese word

东

Pronunciation

Pinyindōng

Meaning

  • nouneast

Example

太阳从东方升起。tài yáng cóng dōng fāng shēng qǐ

The sun rises in the east.

Illustration for 东 (east)

More examples

向东走，可以看到海。xiàng dōng zǒu ké yǐ kàn dào hǎi

Walk east, and you can see the sea.

Core concept

The sunrise side of a place, used for both a direction on a map and the area found there.

Common phrases

  • 东边dōng biān

    east side

  • 东面dōng miàn

    east side

  • 东方dōng fāng

    east

Similar words

东边dōng biān: The place or area lying on the east side of something.
东面dōng miàn: The east-facing side or direction of a place or object.
东方dōng fāng: The direction toward the east, viewed broadly.
东部dōng bù: An area forming the eastern part of a country or region.

Definition in Chinese

指地理方位中太阳升起的方向，亦可指事物的东侧或东方地域。zhǐ dì lǐ fāng wèi zhōng tài yáng shēng qǐ de fāng xiàng yì kě zhǐ shì wù de dōng cè huò dōng fāng dì yù

Word origin

东 (dōng, "east") comes from the traditional character 東 (dōng, "east"), whose early form is generally understood as a tied bundle and was later used for the sunrise direction.

Usage tips

  • English may capitalize East when it names a cultural or political region, but Chinese uses no capitalization, so context and surrounding words carry that distinction.

Other meanings

  • east sidenoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word