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三北

Mandarin · pinyin Sān běi

China's three northern regions, 東北 Dōng běi, 華北 Huá běi and 西北 Xī běi

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Characters in this entry

三: sān · three
北: běi · north; northern; northward

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–3 · San1 bei3

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

(literary) to suffer defeats repeatedly; to lose over and over again

name

(abbreviation) the Three Norths, namely Northeast China (東北／东北 (dōngběi)), North China (華北／华北 (Huáběi)) and Northwest China (西北 (xīběi))
(Mainland China) short for 三北防護林工程 /三北防护林工程 (Sānběi fánghùlín gōngchéng, “Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, a.k.a. the Great Green Wall of China”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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