Beijing

• Běijīng (rare)
• Peking (dated)
• Pekin, Pei-ching, Pachin, Paquin, Pequin (obs.)

c. 1958, the atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng), composed of 北 (“north, northern”) and 京 (“capital”), distinguishing it from Nanjing to the south, and first applied informally during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who preferred to rule from Beijing but was obliged to treat Nanjing as a secondary capital by the dynastic injunctions of his father the Hongwu Emperor. The name continued a practice of several preceding dynasties—especially those of nomadic conquerers from the north such as the Jin and Liao—of maintaining a number of separate capitals designated by their cardinal directions. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

• IPA^(key): /beɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/, /ˌbeɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/

  • Audio (US, /beɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/)

    (file)

• (hyperforeign) IPA^(key): /beɪˈʒɪŋ/, /ˌbeɪˈʒɪŋ/[1]
• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Beijing

1. A direct-administered municipality, the capital city of China. [from mid 20th c.]
   • 1978 December 3, “CHINA HUATCHERS KEEP EYE ON BEIJING IN '79”, in The Daily Colonist‎, volume 120, number 292, Victoria, British Columbia, ISSN 0839-4261, OCLC 1115071851, page 1, column 6:

     China's official news agency said Saturday it will adopt the Chinese Pinyin phonetic alphabet beginning Jan. 1, when Peking will become Beijing (pronounced bay-jing) and the agency Xinhua instead of Hsinhua.

   • 1990, Reagan, Ronald, An American Life‎, Pocket Books, →ISBN, LCCN 91-28704, OCLC 495476481, page 369:

     Thanks to some tutoring we'd gotten in Washington, Nancy and I both managed to handle our chopsticks with adequate deftness. We generally heeded advice that Richard Nixon, who'd come to Beijing in 1972, had given us before we left on the trip: Don't ask about the food they serve you at the big banquets, just swallow it. Still, I had difficultly identifying several items on my plate that first night, so I stirred them around in hopes of camouflaging my reluctance to eat them.

   • 2003, Clinton, Hillary Rodham, “Women's Rights are Human Rights”, in Living History‎, →ISBN, OCLC 249479603, page 300:

     I was particularly troubled by a personal letter from Mrs. Wu, who was understandably worried about her husband’s fate and felt that my participation in the conference “would be sending a confused signal to the leaders in Beijing about the resolve of the U.S. to press for Harry’s release.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Beijing.
2. (metonymically) The government of the People's Republic of China. [from late 20th c.]
   • 1980, Gurton, Melvin; Byong-Moo Hwang, China under Threat: The Politics of Strategy and Diplomacy‎, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, LCCN 80-7990, OCLC 470966163, page 210:

     In Beijing’s view, in the absence of an explicit treaty provision, the central line of the main channel—the Thalweg principle—provided a legal basis for delimiting the boundary in the two rivers. On this basis, Beijing claimed that 600 of the rivers’ 700 islands—including Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, just 180 miles southwest of an important Soviet city, Khabarovsk—belonged to the P.R.C.

   • 1992, Nixon, Richard, “The Pacific Triangle”, in Seize the Moment‎, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, LCCN 91-37743, OCLC 440652941, page 181:

     In the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972, we recognized the fact that both Beijing and Taipei viewed Taiwan as part of China but unequivocally expressed our support for a peaceful settlement of the unification issue. While we should not alter the fundamental pillars of our policy, we should consider certain steps that will raise Taiwan's international standing.

   • 2011, Kissinger, Henry, On China‎, New York: Penguin Press, →ISBN, LCCN 2011009265, OCLC 1025648355, page 209:

     The Chinese response hinted that Beijing was interested in ending its isolation but was in no hurry to abandon its anger.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Beijing.

Rarely used until 1979.[2] Note that cultural terms such as Peking duck, Pekingese, Peking opera and Peking University use Peking irrespective of Beijing.

• (capital):
  • Yan, Yanjing (historic), Yen-ching (hist. obs.)
  • Zhongdu (hist.), Chung-tu (hist. obs.)
  • Dadu (hist.), Ta-tu (hist. obs.)
  • Khanbalik, Khanbaliq (hist.), Cambaluc (hist. archaic)
  • Beiping, Peiping (hist.), Pei-p’ing (hist. obs.)
• (Chinese government): Zhongnanhai

• Nanjing

• “Beijing”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Beijing, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• Beijing at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “Beijing”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• “Beijing” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2023.

Beijing ?

1. Alternative form of Beixín

Beijing

1. Beijing (the capital city of China)

• IPA^(key): /ˈbei̯jiŋː/, [ˈbe̞i̯j(ː)iŋː]
• Rhymes: -eijiŋː
• Syllabification^(key): Bei‧jing

Beijing

1. (rare) Alternative form of Peking.

Borrowed from Mandarin 北京 (Běijīng). Doublet of Pékin.

• IPA^(key): /be.dʒiŋ/

Beijing ?

1. (chiefly Canada) Synonym of Pékin

• Peking (“Peking”)

From Mandarin Chinese 北京 (“Beijing”), first part from 北 (“northern”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ba (“to carry (on back), shoulder”). Last part from 京 (“capital”), either from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-gaŋ (“hill, ridge, mountain”), or of Austroasiatic origin.

• IPA^(key): /bæjˈdʒɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋ
• Hyphenation: Bei‧jing

Beijing

1. Beijing (the capital city of China)

   Historisk har Beijing først og fremst vært et sentrum for administrasjon, kultur og åndsliv.

   Historically, Beijing has primarily been a center of administration, culture and intellectual life.

• beijinger (“Beijinger”)
• beijingsk (“Beijingese”)

• “Beijing” in Store norske leksikon

From Mandarin 北京. Doublet of Pequim.

Beijing f

1. Synonym of Pequim

Borrowed from Mandarin 北京.

• IPA^(key): [bejˈʒiŋ], [bejˈʒiŋɡ]

Beijing n

1. Beijing (a direct-administered municipality, the capital city of China)

Borrowed from Mandarin 北京. Doublet of Pekín.

• Rhymes: -in

Beijing ?

1. Synonym of Pekín