北极 (běijí) · the North Pole

北极 (běijí) means “the North Pole; Arctic”. It is written with 2 characters: 北 (north) + 极 (extremely). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 北极 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)

极 jí · extremely

What 极 is made of

木mù — tree
- 十 — ten
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
- 八bā — eight
及jí — to extend
- 又yòu — and

Origin hint: 木 gives the meaning, 及 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

北极非常寒冷。Běijí fēicháng hánlěng.The Arctic is extremely cold.

北极熊生活在北极。Běijíxióng shēnghuó zài běijí.Polar bears live in the Arctic.

Questions about 北极

What does 北极 mean?

北极 (běijí) means “the North Pole; Arctic”.

How do you pronounce 北极?

北极 is pronounced běijí.

Which HSK level is 北极?

北极 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 北极 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 8: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group