Chinese word

城市

Pronunciation

Pinyinchéng shì

Meaning

  • nouncity

Example

这座城市很漂亮。zhè zuò chéng shì hěn piào liàng

This city is very beautiful.

Illustration for 城市 (city)

More examples

很多人想去城市工作。hěn duō rén xiǎng qù chéng shì gōng zuò

Many people want to go to the city for work.

Core concept

A built-up community where people live, work, trade, and use shared public services.

Common phrases

  • 大城市dà chéng shì

    large city

  • 城市中心chéng shì zhōng xīn

    city center

  • 城市居民chéng shì jū mín

    city residents

  • 城市生活chéng shì shēng huó

    urban life

Similar words

市shì: A local government area that provides public services and serves as a regional center.
区qū: A local administrative and residential district within a larger governed area.
镇zhèn: A small settlement that acts as a local center for government, shops, and trade.
村cūn: A small farming settlement with a low population and few buildings.

Definition in Chinese

指由人口、建筑和社会服务构成的较大聚居地，主要从事工商、管理和各类服务活动。zhǐ yóu rén kǒu jiàn zhù hé shè huì fú wù gòu chéng de jiào dà jù jū dì zhǔ yào cóng shì gōng shāng guán lǐ hé gè lèi fú wù huó dòng

Word origin

城 (chéng, "walled settlement") + 市 (shì, "marketplace") joins the ideas of a settled place and a place of commerce to form 城市 (chéngshì, "city").

Usage tips

  • Unlike English, Chinese commonly uses the classifier 座 (zuò, "classifier for large fixed objects") before this noun when pointing to one particular city.

Other meanings

  • townnoun
  • urban areanoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word