capital (city)
HSK level
首都 is written with 19 strokes (首: 9, 都: 10). The animation replays automatically.
首都 (shǒudū) is a noun meaning 'the capital city of a country' — the seat of national government.
It is built from 首 (head, foremost) and 都 (metropolis, capital), literally 'the head city.' 首都 refers only to a national capital, such as Beijing being 中国的首都 (the capital of China). This is where English speakers stumble: English 'capital' is one word for a national capital, a provincial/state capital, and even financial capital, but Chinese splits these.
A provincial capital is 省会 (shěnghuì), not 首都, and financial capital is 资本 (zīběn). Note also the reading: 都 is pronounced dū here (capital), not the far more common dōu (all/both). 首都 is neutral and used in both speech and writing.
Character by character
Memory hook: 首 (head) + 都 (metropolis) = the 'head city' of a nation — its capital.
北京是中国的首都。
Běijīng shì Zhōngguó de shǒudū.
Beijing is the capital of China.
neutral
你知道法国的首都是哪里吗？
Nǐ zhīdào Fǎguó de shǒudū shì nǎlǐ ma?
Do you know what the capital of France is?
spoken
很多人从首都机场出发。
Hěn duō rén cóng shǒudū jīchǎng chūfā.
Many people depart from the capital airport.
neutral
这座城市曾经是这个国家的首都。
Zhè zuò chéngshì céngjīng shì zhège guójiā de shǒudū.
This city was once the capital of this country.
written
京城 is a literary/historical word for the capital, especially of imperial China (often meaning old Beijing). 首都 is the neutral modern term for any country's capital.
省会 is a provincial capital (e.g. 广州 is the 省会 of 广东). 首都 is only a national capital. English 'capital' blurs the two; Chinese keeps them separate.
Acquire it by listening
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