四川
Sìchuān
Sichuan in Chinese is 四川 (Sìchuān).
四川 is the name of a province in China.
Meaning: a province in China (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The name 四川 literally translates to 'four rivers'. The first character, 四, means 'four' and the second character, 川, means 'river'.
Which one should you use?
While 四川 is the standard name, you may see the character 川 used informally to refer to the region. In formal or complete administrative contexts, the character 省, meaning 'province', is appended to form 四川省 (Sichuan Province).
How do you pronounce it?
Sìchuān
Did you know?
- Although 四川 is often translated as 'four rivers', the name actually comes from a shortening of a phrase referring to four administrative 'circuits' established during the Song dynasty.
- The Sichuan dialect is famous in China for its use of tones that can make the language sound more melodic or rhythmic compared to the standard Mandarin used in Beijing.
Examples in context
- 週末我們全家去吃四川菜，點了麻婆豆腐和夫妻肺片。On the weekend, our whole family went to eat Sichuan food and ordered mapo tofu and husband-and-wife lung slices.This sentence shows how to use 四川 when discussing types of food.Tatoeba #13587150 by LeviHighway, translation #13587202 by LeviHighway
- 熊猫在四川省土生土长，不在任何其他省份的野外生活。The panda is indigenous to Sichuan Province and does not live in the wild in any other places.This sentence shows how to use 四川 when discussing the habitat of pandas.Tatoeba #765398 by eastasiastudent, translation #765399 by eastasiastudent
- 我很喜欢川菜，它的味道又辣又麻，非常好吃。I really like Sichuan cuisine, it's both spicy and numbing, and very delicious.
- 四川有很多名胜古迹。Sìchuān yǒu hěnduō míngshèng gǔjì.Sichuan has many famous historical sites.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing travel plans at a cafe.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你想去四川旅游吗？Nǐ xiǎng qù Sìchuān lǚyóu ma?Do you want to travel to Sichuan?
- 俊杰 Junjie我也想去，听说那里很美。Wǒ yě xiǎng qù, tīngshuō nàlǐ hěn měi.I want to go too, I heard it's very beautiful there.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们可以一起去四川看熊猫。Wǒmen kěyǐ yīqǐ qù Sìchuān kàn xióngmāo.We can go to Sichuan together to see pandas.
- 俊杰 Junjie那太棒了，我一定会去的。Nà tài bàng le, wǒ yīdìng huì qù de.That would be great, I will definitely go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sichuan” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 四川, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
