Dictionary › 南

南

nán

HSK 3 Character

What 南 means

1. south

Other readings

南 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• nāused in {南无|nā mó}; Taiwan pr. ná
• Nánsurname Nan

Example sentences

• 南非很远。
  Nánfēi hěn yuǎn.
  South Africa is far away.
• 群鸟南翔。
  The birds flew to the south.
• 南男北女。
  Southern men, Northern women.
• 他讨厌南希。
  He hates Nancy.
• 他飞到南方。
  He took off to the south.
• 南希努力学习。
  Nancy studied hard.

Words starting with 南

• 南方nán fāngsouth; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of…
• 南北nán běinorth and south; north to south
• 南部nán bùsouthern part
• 南边nán biansouth; south side; southern part
• 南非Nán fēiSouth Africa; Southern Africa
• 南下nán xiàto go down south
• 南大Nán DàNanjing University, NJU (abbr. for 南京大学
• 南海Nán HǎiSouth China Sea
• 南极nán jíthe South Pole; the south magnetic pole
• 南面nán miànsouth side; south
• 南瓜nán guāpumpkin
• 南京大屠杀Nán jīng Dà tú shāthe Nanjing Massacre (1937-38)
• 南斯拉夫Nán sī lā fūYugoslavia (former country that existed in various forms from 1918 to 2003)
• 南京市Nán jīng ShìNanjing, sub-provincial city and capital of Jiangsu Province 江苏省
• 南开Nán kāiNankai district of Tianjin municipality 天津市
• 南美Nán MěiSouth America
• 南宋Nán sòngthe Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
• 南洋Nán yángSoutheast Asia; South seas
• 南京路Nán jīng lùNanjing St., large commercial street in Shanghai
• 南朝鲜Nán Cháo xiǎnSouth Korea
• 南侧nán cèsouth side; south face
• 南京大学Nán jīng Dà xuéNanjing University, NJU
• 南亚nán Yàsouthern Asia
• 南宫Nán gōngtwo-character surname Nangong; see 南宫市

Words containing 南

• 指南针zhǐ nán zhēncompass
• 江南Jiāng nánregion of China immediately south of the lower Yangtze River, including Shanghai and…
• 越南Yuè nánVietnam
• 指南zhǐ nánto guide; guidebook
• 西南xī nánsouthwest
• 东南dōng nánsoutheast
• 东南亚Dōng nán yàSoutheast Asia
• 中南海Zhōng nán hǎiZhongnanhai, palace adjacent to the Forbidden City, now the central headquarters of the…
• 河南省Hé nán ShěngHenan Province, capital Zhengzhou 郑州市
• 湖南省Hú nán ShěngHunan Province, capital Changsha 长沙市
• 云南省Yún nán ShěngYunnan Province, capital Kunming 昆明市
• 闽南Mǐn nánMinnan (southern Fujian)
• 以南yǐ nánto the south of (suffix)
• 华南Huá nánSouthern China
• 安南Ān nánAnnam (Tang Dynasty protectorate located in what is now northern Vietnam)…
• 中南Zhōng NánSouth Central China (Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan)…
• 岭南Lǐng nánsouth of the five ranges; old term for south China, esp. Guangdong and Guangxi
• 台南Tái nánTainan, a city and special municipality in southwest Taiwan
• 海南岛Hǎi nán DǎoHainan Island, China's southernmost province, off the coast of Guangdong
• 海南省Hǎi nán ShěngHainan Province, capital Haikou 海口市
• 大江南北Dà jiāng nán běinorth and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom); (fig.) all over China
• 济南市Jǐ nán ShìJinan, sub-provincial city and capital of Shandong Province 山东省
• 东西南北dōng xī nán běieast west south north
• 天南地北tiān nán dì běi(idiom) far apart; (idiom) from different places; from all over…

Characters built on 干

These share the phonetic component 干 (gān), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 汗hànperspiration; sweat; to be speechless (out of helplessness, embarrassment etc)…
• 赶gǎnto overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush; to try to catch (the bus etc)
• 刊kānto print; to publish; publication
• 罕hǎnrare
• 杆gǎnstick; pole; lever
• 肝gānliver; (slang) to put in long hours, typically late into the night, playing…
• 旱hàndrought
• 竿gān(bound form) pole; rod

Characters that look like 南

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 面miànface; side; surface
• 亲qīnparent; one's own (flesh and blood); relative
• 尚shàngstill; yet; to value
• 剥bōto peel; to skin; to flay
• 秦Qínsurname Qin; Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) of the first emperor 秦始皇; short name for 陕西
• 斋zhāito fast or abstain from meat, wine etc; vegetarian diet; study room

Sounds the same

Read nán, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 难difficult (to...); problem; difficulty
• 男(bound form) male; baron, the lowest of the five ranks of nobility 五等爵位
• 楠Machilus nanmu; Chinese cedar; Chinese giant redwood
• 喃mumble in repetition
• 暔name of a country
• 諵mumble in repetition
• 侽old variant of 男
• 娚old variant of 喃