北方 běi fāng
“north; the northern part a country; China north of the Yellow River”
place word, locality wordHSK 3 · 2021 list level 2
新HSK等级2025 HSK 3.0 syllabus level
北方 appears in the November 2025 exam syllabus in the following numbered entry. Levels refer to the listed reading and use, not every meaning.
- Entry 518: 北方 běifāng — Level 3; official annotation 3 (名). PDF page 92
Separate from the HSK 2.0 and 2021 list labels above. Compare the three lists.
用法How to use 北方
北方 means "the north" or "the northern part" of a country — for learners, usually northern China. It is a place word, so it can be the subject of a sentence or follow 在、去、到; it also commonly comes before nouns like 人、菜、天气 to mean "northern." Typical patterns are 在北方、北方人、北方的冬天.
例句Example sentences
- 冬天北方很冷，常常下雪。dōng tiān běi fāng hěn lěng, cháng cháng xià xuě.In winter the north is very cold and it often snows.
- 我爷爷是北方人，他喜欢吃面条。wǒ yé ye shì běi fāng rén, tā xǐ huan chī miàn tiáo.My grandpa is from the north; he likes eating noodles.
- 今年夏天我们去北方玩了十天。jīn nián xià tiān wǒ men qù běi fāng wán le shí tiān.This summer we went to the north and stayed ten days.
常见错误Common mistakes
-
✗我在北方里住了两年。
✓我在北方住了两年。
北方 is a place word, not a container noun, so it does not take 里 after it.