běi biān
north side
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我在北边长大。
wǒ zài běi biān cháng dà.
I grew up in the north.
北边有座山。
běi biān yǒu zuò shān.
There is a mountain in the north.
北边很冷。
běi biān hěn lěng.
It is very cold in the north.
北方 (běifāng)
north
北部 (běibù)
northern part
北面 (běimiàn)
north side
南边 (nán biān)
south
东边 (dōng biān)
east
The Chinese word 北边 (běibian) for "north side" is composed of two characters: 北 (běi) meaning "north" and 边 (biān) meaning "side" or "edge". The character 北 is a pictograph depicting a person facing north, with the sun rising behind them. The character 边 is a phonetic compound, combining the sound component 偏 (piān) with the semantic component 邑 (yì), which represents a city or town. Together, the two characters 北边 literally mean "the side facing north", and are used to refer to the northern direction or region.
