北京
Běijīng
Peking is the former romanization of the name of the capital city of China, in Chinese 北京 (Běijīng).
While the term 'Peking' is frequently used in English-speaking contexts for specific dishes like Peking duck, in Chinese, the term is part of 北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā).
What does it mean word for word?
The name is composed of two characters: 北, meaning north and 京, meaning capital.
Which one should you use?
While English speakers often use the older romanization 'Peking' in historical contexts or for specific dishes, the standard modern romanization used in Chinese and internationally is 'Beijing' (北京).
How do you pronounce it?
Běijīng
Did you know?
- The character 京 is also used in many other names for major cities across the Sinosphere, such as the Japanese 'Kyoto', which shares the same historical root for 'capital'.
- The character 京 originally depicted a high building with a tall tower, symbolizing the prestige of a capital city.
- The phrase 'Peking opera' uses the term 京剧 (Jīngjù), where 京 functions as a shorthand for the city of 北京.
Examples in context
- 我们在中餐厅吃了北京烤鸭。We ate Peking duck in the Chinese restaurant.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 北京 in the context of a dish.Tatoeba #661545 by mervegorus, translation #661544 by mervegorus
- 北京很大。Běijīng hěn dà.Beijing is very large.
- 你打算去北京吗？Nǐ dǎsuàn qù Běijīng ma?Do you plan to go to Beijing?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about travel plans in a cafe.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你想去北京旅游吗？Nǐ xiǎng qù Běijīng lǚyóu ma?Do you want to travel to Beijing?
- 浩然 Haoran我想去，可是太远了。Wǒ xiǎng qù, kěshì tài yuǎn le.I want to go, but it is too far.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen浩然，我们可以坐高铁。Hàorán, wǒmen kěyǐ zuò gāotiě.Haoran, we can take the high-speed train.
- 浩然 Haoran那太好了。Nà tài hǎo le.That would be great.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
