北方 (běifāng) · the north

北方 (běifāng) means “the north; northern part”. It is written with 2 characters: 北 (north) + 方 (square). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

How 北方 is built

The characters

北 běi · north

What 北 is made of

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)

方 fāng · square

What 方 is made of

亠tóu — lid
- 丶 — dot
- 一 — horizontal stroke

Example sentences

北方的冬天很冷。Běifāng de dōngtiān hěn lěng.Winters in the north are very cold.

你是北方人吗？Nǐ shì běifāng rén ma?Are you from the north?

Questions about 北方

What does 北方 mean?

北方 (běifāng) means “the north; northern part”.

How do you pronounce 北方?

北方 is pronounced běifāng.

Which HSK level is 北方?

北方 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021) and Old HSK 3.

Related words

Learn 北方 with its group

It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 16: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

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