běi = b + ei3
north / (classical) to be defeated
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How to pronounce 北

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= b initial

B is for Beelzebub.

By Matthias • updated 3 months ago
+ ei3 final

In the Eiffel Tower’s living room.

By Matthias • updated 4 months ago

北 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
"piece of wood" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 90), mirror image of 片[pian4]
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= bi + Ø3
dagger / ladle / ancient type of spoon
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pán = p + an2
classifier for strips of land or bamboo, shops, factories etc / slit bamboo or chopped wood (dialect)
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Characters with 北 as component

yān = y + an1
Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in modern Hebei and Liaoning / north Hebei / the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕[Qian2 Yan1] (337-370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕[Hou4 Yan1] (384-409), Southern Yan 南燕[Nan2 Yan1] (398-410), Northern Yan 北燕[Bei3 Yan1] (409-436) / surname Yan
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yàn = y + an4
swallow (family Hirundinidae) / old variant of 宴[yan4]
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yàn = y + an4
variant of 燕[yan4]
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Words with 北

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north / the northern part a country / China north of the Yellow River
northern part
north / north side / northern part / to the north of

Sentences with 北

北 currently does not appear in any sentence.

Want to remember 北 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

běi

north / (classical) to be defeated

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