Chinese word

南北

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán běi

Meaning

  • nounnorth and south

Example

地图上标明了南北方向。dì tú shàng biāo míng liǎo nán běi fāng xiàng

The map marks the north and south directions.

Illustration for 南北 (north and south)

More examples

改革开放以来，南北的经济发展存在明显差距。gǎi gé kāi fàng yǐ lái nán běi de jīng jì fā zhǎn cún zài míng xiǎn chā jù

Since reform and opening up, there has been a clear gap in economic development between the north and south.

Core concept

A two-ended geographic axis running from one region to the other, including the spread or contrast found along it.

Common phrases

  • 南北差异nán běi chā yì

    north-south differences

  • 南北分布nán běi fēn bù

    north-south distribution

  • 南北方向nán běi fāng xiàng

    north-south direction

Similar words

方向fāng xiàng: The way in which a place or destination lies from a given point.
东西dōng xī: The two opposite directions, east and west, viewed as a line between places.
南方nán fāng: The southern part of a country, area, or place.
北方běi fāng: The northern part of a country, area, or place.

Definition in Chinese

表示南方与北方两端的位置与沿此方向的分布或行进，也可泛指南北两地或南北之间的差别与对比关系。biǎo shì nán fāng yǔ běi fāng liǎng duān de wèi zhì yǔ yán cǐ fāng xiàng de fēn bù huò xíng jìn yě kě fàn zhǐ nán běi liǎng dì huò nán běi zhī jiān de chā bié yǔ duì bǐ guān xì

Word origin

南北 (nánběi, "north and south") combines 南 (nán, "south") and 北 (běi, "north"), so the pair names the axis between the directions and the regions or contrasts linked to it.

Usage tips

  • In location talk, it describes a route or layout, while in wider discussions it can mark a regional divide, so the surrounding topic shows whether the meaning is literal or comparative.

Other meanings

  • north-south directionnoun

Related words

  • 南北差异nán běi chā yìnorth-south differencesnoun
  • 南北分布nán běi fēn bùnorth-south distributionnoun
  • 南北方向nán běi fāng xiàngnorth-south directionnoun

Word lists with this word