云南
Yúnnán
云南 (Yúnnán) is the Chinese name for the province of Yunnan.
In poetic or literary contexts, you may also encounter the traditional name 滇.
Meaning: a province in China (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The name 云南 is composed of two characters: 云, meaning 'cloud' and 南, meaning 'south'. Together, the name literally translates to 'south of the clouds'.
How do you pronounce it?
Yúnnán
Did you know?
- The character 滇 used to refer to the region in classical texts is actually the name of an ancient kingdom that existed in the area long before the modern province was established.
- In classical Chinese literature, the character 云 was frequently used as a verb meaning 'to say', meaning 云南 could be interpreted as 'speaking south'.
- People from 云南 are known for a distinct dialect that can be very difficult for speakers of standard Mandarin to understand despite using the same written characters.
Examples in context
- Wǒ cóng Luchuan lái, Yúnnán hěn měi. (我从鲁川来，云南很美。)I am from Luchuan, Yunnan is beautiful.
- 我想去云南旅游。Wǒ xiǎng qù Yúnnán lǚyóu.I want to travel to Yunnan.
- 云南有很多漂亮的地方。Yúnnán yǒu hěnduō piàoliang de dìfāng.Yunnan has many beautiful places.
- 他出生在云南。Tā chūshēng zài Yúnnán.He was born in Yunnan.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their travel plans.
- 梓涵 Zihan你暑假去哪里玩？Nǐ shǔjià qù nǎlǐ wán?Where are you going for summer vacation?
- 浩然 Haoran我打算去云南。Wǒ dǎsuàn qù Yúnnán.I plan to go to Yunnan.
- 梓涵 Zihan云南风景很好看吧？Yúnnán fēngjǐng hěn hǎokàn ba?The scenery in Yunnan is beautiful, right?
- 浩然 Haoran是的，非常漂亮。Shì de, fēicháng piàoliang.Yes, it is very beautiful.
