Chinese character for north: 北 (běi)
The Chinese character for north is 北 (běi). It means north and appears in 北方 (běifāng, the north) and 北京 (Běijīng, Beijing, literally 'northern capital').
How 北 is built
北 is a pictograph of two people standing back to back. Its first meaning was to turn one's back; since houses face south, your back is to the north, and the character came to mean north. The original meaning of turning away survives in 背 (bèi, back), which adds 月 (flesh) below 北. This is a standard, well-known explanation. 北 is identical in both scripts.
北 běi · north
- 匕bǐ — spoon
- 乚 — hook stroke
- 丿 — falling stroke
Origin hint: Two people 匕 sitting back-to-back; phonetic loan for "north" (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 北 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 北 is identical in both scripts; it reads simply as 'north' and is often connected with Beijing.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for north?
北 (běi) means “north”.
How do you pronounce 北?
北 is pronounced běi.