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北

Mandarin · pinyin běi

north
(classical) to be defeated

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北: běi · north; northern; northward

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

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Mandarin tones

3 · bei3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bak1 · bui3

Cantonese word readings for 北. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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.

character

north; northern
to be defeated; to fail

character

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) original form of 背 (bèi, “back; to betray”)

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

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