北京
Beijing
Běijīng
What does 北京 mean?
北京 (Běijīng) is the capital of the People's Republic of China and a proper noun every Mandarin learner meets in the first week. The name literally means 'northern capital' — 北 (north) plus 京 (capital) — and contrasts historically with 南京 (Nánjīng, 'southern capital'). In speech it functions like any city name: 'I live in 北京', 'I'm going to 北京'. Two things to know. First, the pinyin is written Běijīng with capital B, the same way you'd write Beijing in English; in passages of pinyin the city name stays capitalized. Second, the older Wade-Giles spelling 'Peking' survives only in fossilized names (Peking duck, Peking University) — the city itself has been Beijing in standard romanization since 1979.
Character breakdown
north
capital city
Memory hook: 北 = north, 京 = capital. The northern capital, opposite of 南京 (Nanjing, the southern capital).
Example sentences
我住在北京。
Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng.
I live in Beijing.
neutral
他是北京人。
Tā shì Běijīng rén.
He's from Beijing.
neutral
明天我去北京。
Míngtiān wǒ qù Běijīng.
Tomorrow I'm going to Beijing.
spoken
北京有很多人。
Běijīng yǒu hěn duō rén.
Beijing has a lot of people.
neutral
Common phrases with 北京
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
北京 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Don't confuse 北京 with
南京 (Nanjing) means 'southern capital' and is a different city in Jiangsu province. Beginners sometimes mix up 北 (north) and 南 (south).
背景 means 'background' and shares one syllable in sound but uses completely different characters. Tones differ too: Běijīng (3-1) vs bèijǐng (4-3).