Word

北美洲 (Běi měi zhōu) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 6

Meaning of 北美洲

名 míng noun

North America

加拿大和美国都位于北美洲。

Jiā ná dà hé Měi guó dōu wèi yú Běi měi zhōu

Canada and the United States are both located in North America.

Word breakdown

北 běi — north

1 东北 dōng běi — northeast HSK 3
- 东 east
- 北 north
Example

东北的冬天很冷。

dōng běi de dōng tiān hěn lěng

Winters in the Northeast are very cold.
2 北方 běi fāng — north HSK 3
- 北 north (cardinal direction)
- 方 direction, region, area
Example

北方的冬天很冷。

běi fāng de dōng tiān hěn lěng

Winter in the north is very cold.
3 西北 xī běi — northwest HSK 3
- 西 west
- 北 north
Example

中国西北地区气候干燥。

Zhōng guó xī běi dì qū qì hòu gān zào

The climate in northwestern China is dry.
4 北部 běi bù — northern part HSK 4
- 北 north
- 部 part, region
Example

我住在这个城市的北部。

wǒ zhù zài zhè ge chéng shì de běi bù

I live in the northern part of this city.
5 北极 běi jí — North Pole HSK 6
- 北 north, northern direction
- 极 pole, extreme point
Example

他们计划去北极探险。

tā men jì huà qù běi jí tàn xiǎn

They plan to explore the North Pole.

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6 南辕北辙 nán yuán běi zhé — to go south while heading north; self-contradictory HSK 7
- 南 south; represents the direction of the carriage shafts
- 辕 shafts; the poles attached to a cart or carriage
- 北 north; represents the direction of the wheel tracks
- 辙 wheel tracks; the marks left by wheels on the ground
Example

你想减肥却天天吃零食，这不是南辕北辙吗？

nǐ xiǎng jiǎn féi què tiān tiān chī líng shí zhè bú shì nán yuán běi zhé ma

You want to lose weight but eat snacks every day, isn't this self-contradictory?

美 měi — America (short for Americas)

洲 zhōu — continent

1 亚洲 Yà zhōu — Asia HSK 4
- 亚 Asia (abbreviated form of 亚细亚)
- 洲 continent
Example

中国是亚洲最大的国家。

Zhōng guó shì Yà zhōu zuì dà de guó jiā

China is the largest country in Asia.
2 欧洲 Ōu zhōu — Europe HSK 5
- 欧 phonetic transliteration of 'Eu-' from Europe
- 洲 continent, landmass
Example

我想去欧洲旅行。

wǒ xiǎng qù Ōu zhōu lǚ xíng

I want to travel to Europe.
3 非洲 Fēi zhōu — Africa HSK 5
- 非 Fei (phonetic component)
- 洲 continent
Example

非洲有很多野生动物。

Fēi zhōu yǒu hěn duō yě shēng dòng wù

Africa has many wild animals.
4 南极洲 Nán jí zhōu — Antarctica HSK 6
- 南 south
- 极 pole
- 洲 continent
Example

南极洲是地球上最冷的大陆。

Nán jí zhōu shì dì qiú shàng zuì lěng de dà lù

Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth.
5 南美洲 Nán měi zhōu — South America HSK 6
- 南 south
- 美 America
- 洲 continent
Example

我想去南美洲旅游。

wǒ xiǎng qù Nán měi zhōu lǚ yóu

I want to travel to South America.

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6 大洋洲 Dà yáng zhōu — Oceania HSK 6
- 大 big, large
- 洋 ocean
- 洲 continent
Example

大洋洲是地球上最小的大陆。

Dà yáng zhōu shì dì qiú shàng zuì xiǎo de dà lù

Oceania is the smallest continent on Earth.
7 绿洲 lǜ zhōu — oasis HSK 7
- 绿 green, verdant (referring to vegetation and life)
- 洲 land, area (referring to a distinct zone or region)
Example

他们在沙漠里发现了一个绿洲。

tā men zài shā mò lǐ fā xiàn le yí ge lǜ zhōu

They discovered an oasis in the desert.

Structure & writing

1 北 běi — north (the direction to one's left when facing the morning sun, opposite of 'south')

北 is a component in 4 characters

HSK 4

乘 chéng to ride; to travel by (vehicle or animal) 背 bèi back (of the upper body, opposite the chest and abdomen)

HSK 7

乖 guāi obedient, well-behaved (of a child) 燕 yàn swallow (bird with small body, long pointed wings, and forked tail)

北 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

2 美 měi — beautiful; good-looking (opposite of "丑")

美 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

2.1 羊 yáng — sheep or goat (mammal with horns, including domestic breeds like sheep and goats, and wild species like gazelles and antelopes; wool, hide, bone, and horn used as industrial materials; meat and milk edible)

羊 is a component in 20 characters

HSK 1

样 yàng shape; appearance; state of affairs

HSK 2

着 zhuó to wear (clothing)

HSK 3