Wiktionary

北

See also: 业, 比, 非, and 兆
北 U+5317, 北
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5317
← 化
[U+5316] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 匘 →
[U+5318]
北 U+F963, 北
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F963
← 異
[U+F962] 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs 磻 →
[U+F964]

北 U+2F82B, 北
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F82B
← 匆
[U+2F82A] 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 卉 →
[U+2F82C]
Commons:Category
Commons:Category
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Translingual

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Stroke order (Japan)
 

Han character

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北 (Kangxi radical 21, 匕+3, 5 strokes, cangjie input 中一心 (LMP), four-corner 11110, composition ⿲⿱一㇀丨匕(GJKV) or ⿰⿱⿰一丨㇀匕(HT))

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 152, character 25
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2574
  • Dae Jaweon: page 342, character 6
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 262, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+5317

Further reading

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Chinese

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trad. 北
simp. # 北
alternative forms 业
𧉥
 
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • 北 (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • 北 (Cantonese)
  • 北 (Wu)

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 北
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
           
Characters in the same phonetic series (北) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
背 *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs
鄁 *bɯːɡs
偝 *bɯːɡs
邶 *bɯːɡs
苝 *bɯːɡs
北 *pɯːɡ

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) – two men back to back. Originally meaning “back”; the character 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs) refers to the original word.

Compare 化, 比, 卬, and 尼.

Etymology

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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ba (“to carry (on back), shoulder”).

The sense of “north” is derived from “back (of body)”: “back” → “to turn the back to; to retreat” → “north”.

The ancient Chinese value the southern direction and houses are traditionally oriented along a north-south axis, as evident in the fengshui theory and in the orientation of buildings in Chinese Neolithic sites. North is the direction the back is oriented to when the person is facing south.

Compare the graphical origin of 南 (OC *nuːm, “south”) (Sagart, 1988).

Pronunciation 1

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Note: bor5 - only used in place names.
Note:
  • pak - vernacular ("north");
  • pok - literary ("defeat").
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 北
Mandarin Beijing /pei²¹⁴/
Harbin /pei²¹³/
Tianjin /pei¹³/
Jinan /pei²¹³/
Qingdao /pe⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /pei²⁴/
Xi'an /pei²¹/
Xining /pɨ⁴⁴/
Yinchuan /pia¹³/
/pɛ¹³/
Lanzhou /pə¹³/
Ürümqi /pei²¹³/
Wuhan /pɤ²¹³/
Chengdu /pe³¹/
Guiyang /pɛ²¹/
Kunming /pə³¹/
Nanjing /pəʔ⁵/
Hefei /pɐʔ⁵/
Jin Taiyuan /pei⁵³/
Pingyao /pʌʔ¹³/ ～城
/piʌʔ¹³/ ～面面
Hohhot /piəʔ⁴³/
Wu Shanghai /poʔ⁵/
Suzhou /poʔ⁵/
Hangzhou /poʔ⁵/
Wenzhou /pai²¹³/
Hui Shexian /peʔ²¹/
Tunxi /pi⁵/
Xiang Changsha /pə²⁴/
Xiangtan /pæ²⁴/
Gan Nanchang /pɛt̚⁵/
Hakka Meixian /pet̚¹/
Taoyuan /pet̚²²/
Cantonese Guangzhou /pɐk̚⁵/
Nanning /pɐk̚⁵⁵/
Hong Kong /pɐk̚⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /pɔk̚³²/
/pak̚³²/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /pɔyʔ²³/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /pɛ²⁴/
Shantou (Teochew) /pak̚²/
Haikou (Hainanese) /ʔbak̚⁵/
Rime
Character 北
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 幫 (1)
Final (韻) 德 (131)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 博墨切
Baxter pok
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/pək̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/pək̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/pək̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/pək̚/
Li
Rong 		/pək̚/
Wang
Li 		/pək̚/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/pək̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		bo
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		bak1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 北
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		běi
Middle
Chinese 		‹ pok ›
Old
Chinese 		/*pˁək/
English north

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 北
Reading # 1/1
No. 414
Phonetic
component 		北
Rime
group 		職
Rime
subdivision 		0
Corresponding
MC rime 		北
Old
Chinese 		/*pɯːɡ/

Definitions

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北

  1. north; northern
    北移  ―  běi yí  ―  to move north
    北京  ―  Běijīng  ―  Beijing (literally, “northern capital”)
  2. to be defeated; to fail
    敗北／败北  ―  bàiběi  ―  to suffer defeat

Coordinate terms

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西北 (xīběi) 北 東北／东北 (dōngběi)
西 (xī)   東／东 (dōng)
西南 (xīnán) 南 東南／东南 (dōngnán)


Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (北):
  • → Japanese: 北(ほく) (hoku)
  • → Korean: 북(北) (buk)
  • → Vietnamese: bắc (北)

Others:

  • → Japanese: 北(ペー) (pē, “north wind (mahjong tile)”)

Pronunciation 2

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Definitions

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北

  1. † Original form of 背 (bèi, “back; to betray”).

References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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北

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. north
  2. escape, run away

Readings

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Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
北
きた
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Attributed to Old Japanese,[1] although the exact phonetics are not clear, as the term is not cited in phonetic man'yōgana.

Ultimate derivation unknown.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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北(きた) • (kita) 

  1. north (cardinal point)
    • 905, Kokin Wakashū (book 9, poem 412)
      北(きた)へ行(ゆ)く雁(かり)ぞ鳴(な)くなるつれてこし数(かず)はたらでぞかへるべらなる
      kita e yuku kari zo nakunaru tsurete koshi kazu wa tarade zo kaeruberanaru
      (please add an English translation of this example)
    Antonym: 南 (minami)
  2. the North (northern part of a region)
  3. a northerly, north wind
    Synonym: 北風 (kitakaze, hokufū)
    Antonym: 南 (minami)
  4. Short for 北の方 (kita no kata): northward
  5. a developed country
    from the many countries in the Northern Hemisphere are considered developed
Coordinate terms
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  • (compass points) 方角 (hōgaku);
北西 (hokusei)
西北 (seihoku) 		北 (kita) 北東 (hokutō)
東北 (tōhoku)
西 (nishi)   東 (higashi)
西南 (seinan)
南西 (nansei) 		南 (minami) 東南 (tōnan)
南東 (nantō)


Derived terms
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Derived terms

Proper noun

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北(きた) or 北(キタ) • (Kita) 

  1. Kita (one of 23 special wards in Tokyo prefecture, Japan)
  2. (historical) the red-light district north of Edo Castle
    Synonyms: 北郭 (Hokkaku), 北国 (Hokkoku)
  3. a surname
  4. a female given name

Verb

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北(きた)する • (kita suru) suru (stem 北(きた)し (kita shi), past 北(きた)した (kita shita))

  1. to go northwards
    Synonym: 北進する (hokushin suru)
Conjugation
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Conjugation of "北する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") 北し きたし kita shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") 北し きたし kita shi
Shūshikei ("terminal") 北する きたする kita suru
Rentaikei ("attributive") 北する きたする kita suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") 北すれ きたすれ kita sure
Meireikei ("imperative") 北せよ¹
北しろ² 		きたせよ¹
きたしろ² 		kita seyo¹
kita shiro²
Key constructions
Passive 北される きたされる kita sareru
Causative 北させる
北さす 		きたさせる
きたさす 		kita saseru
kita sasu
Potential 北できる きたできる kita dekiru
Volitional 北しよう きたしよう kita shiyō
Negative 北しない きたしない kita shinai
Negative continuative 北せず きたせず kita sezu
Formal 北します きたします kita shimasu
Perfective 北した きたした kita shita
Conjunctive 北して きたして kita shite
Hypothetical conditional 北すれば きたすれば kita sureba
¹ Written imperative

² Spoken imperative

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
北
ペー
Grade: 2
irregular

From Mandarin 北 (běi).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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北(ペー) • (pē) 

  1. (mahjong) north wind (mahjong tile)
    Hypernym: 風牌 (kazehai, fanpai)
  2. (mahjong) a 役 (yaku, “winning hand”) with a triplet or quad of north wind tiles; depending on wind round and player's seat wind, it is worth either 1 or 2 翻 (han, “doubles”)
    Hypernym: 役牌 (yakuhai, yaku-pai)
Coordinate terms
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Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
北
はい
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 北 – see the following entry.
【背】6
[kanji] sixth grade kanji
[kanji] back, stature
(This term, 北, is a variant kanji form of the above term.)

References

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  1. ^ “北”, in 日本国語大辞典‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Chinese 北 (MC pok).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 븍〮 (Yale: púk)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2] 뒤〮 (Yale: twúy) 븍〮 (Yale: púk)
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 븍녁 (Yale: puknyek)
뒤 (Yale: twuy)		 븍 (Yale: puk)

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

北 (eumhun 북녘 북 (bungnyeok buk))

  1. Hanja form? of 북 (“north”).

Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 2

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From Middle Chinese 北 (MC bwojH).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄈᆡᆼ〮 (Yale: ppóy)

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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北 (eumhun 달아날 배 (daranal bae))

  1. Hanja form? of 배 (“to escape; to flee”).

Compounds

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Compounds

Proper noun

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Hanja in this term
北

北 • (Buk) (hangeul 북)

  1. (in headlines) Short for 北(북)韓(한) (Bukhan, “(South Korea) North Korea”).
Usage notes
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A common convention in news headlines, this is almost always written solely in the Hanja form, even in contemporary Korean text otherwise devoid of any Hanja.

See also
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References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

Okinawan

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Kanji

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北

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Etymology

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Kanji in this term
北
にし
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Cognate with mainland Japanese 西 (nishi, “west”).

Noun

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北(にし) (nishi) 

  1. north; northern; northwards

Derived terms

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References

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  • “ニシ” in Haisai Okinawan Dialect.
  • “にし【北】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
  • “ニシ（にし）” in Okinawan Dialect Dictionary - Ajima.
  • “にし” in Okinawan Dictionary - KozaWeb.

Old Japanese

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Etymology

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Unknown.

Noun

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北 (KITA)

  1. north
    • 711–712, Kojiki:
      御陵在畝火山之北方白檮尾上也。
      There was a ridge at the imperial tomb. North of Pi₂yama, a white taowu's tail is at the top.
    • 720, Nihon Shoki:
      今在海北道中 [...]
      Now, in the northern road of the sea [...]
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 13, poem 3242:
      百岐年三野之國之高北之八十一隣之宮爾
      momoki₁ne mi₁no₁ NO₂ KUNI NO₂ TAKA KITA NO₂ kukuri NO₂ MI₂YA ni
      The palace of Kukuri in the high north of Mino-no-kuni...

Southern Amami Ōshima

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Kanji in this term
北
にし
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Kanji

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北

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Etymology

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Cognate with mainland Japanese 西 (nishi, “west”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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北(にし) (nisi) 

  1. north; northern; northwards

References

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  • “にし【北】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

Tày

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Noun

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北 (bắc)

  1. Nôm form of bắc (“north”).
    佷東北丑寅㐌聀
    Cần đông bắc, sửu dần đạ chắc
    People from everywhere and everywhen knows it all
  2. Nôm form of bắc (“net”).
    付許娘㓜北𫠯撰
    Phó hẩư nàng au bắc lồng sỏn
    Hand it over to the lady to bring the net down there and scoop
  3. Nôm form of bắc (“step”).
    芮𱒢真敯荣拾北
    Rườn vỉ chăn hôn giùng síp bắc
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Verb

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北 (pắc)

  1. Nôm form of pắc (“to row”).
    北𱣸斉治过啓大
    Pắc lừa tẻ tấy quá khái đại
    Row the boat to go the other route

References

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  • Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày‎[4] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Vietnamese

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Han character

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北: Hán Nôm readings: bắc, bác, bấc, bậc, bước

  1. Chữ Hán form of bắc (“north”).

Zhuang

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Noun

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北

  1. Sawndip form of byaek (“vegetable”)
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