牆壁 / 墙壁
qiángbì
In Chinese, the word for wall is 牆壁 / 墙壁 (qiángbì).
牆壁 / 墙壁 refers to the physical structure of a wall in a building. It is not typically used for metaphorical walls or for city walls, which would more likely use 墙 or 城墙. For specific types of walls, you might use 围墙 for an enclosing or surrounding wall or 隔墙 for a dividing wall that separates different rooms or areas.
Meaning: substantial structure acting as side or division in a building (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
牆壁 / 墙壁 is a compound word where 墙 means 'wall' and 壁 means 'wall' or 'side'.
Which one should you use?
While 牆壁 / 墙壁 is the standard term, in casual speech, it is often shortened to the single character 墙.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term 井壁 is used to refer to a well wall.
How do you pronounce it?
qiángbì
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, the phrase 墙内开花墙外香 describes a situation where something is appreciated abroad but ignored at home, literally meaning 'flowers bloom inside the wall but are fragrant outside'.
- The character 墙 is composed of two parts: the 'earth' radical 土 and a phonetic component, reflecting that traditional Chinese walls were primarily made of rammed earth.
- The character 壁 in 牆壁 can also mean 'cliff' or 'mountain wall', which is why the phrase 壁画 refers to murals painted on walls or rock faces.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wall” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
