# Beijing
## English
### Alternative forms

* Běijīng (rare)
* Peking (dated)
* Pei-ching, Peiching (uncommon, Wade–Giles)
* Pekin, Pachin, Paquin, Pequin (obsolete)

### Etymology

c. 1958, the atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 北京 (Běijīng) was established, composed of 北 (“north, northern”) and 京 (jīng, “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?)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /beɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/, /ˌbeɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/, enPR: bāʹjǐngʹ
** Audio (US); /beɪˈd͡ʒɪŋ/:(file)
* (hyperforeign) IPA: /beɪˈʒɪŋ/, /ˌbeɪˈʒɪŋ/
* Rhymes: -ɪŋ

### Proper noun

Beijing
* A direct-administered municipality, the capital city of China. [from c. 1958]
** 1976 [1966], Hao Ran, “Debut”, in Wong Kam-ming, transl., Revolutionary Literature in China: An Anthology‎, White Plains, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 92:Liu Lao-zheng sidled right up to Zao-hua and said: “That’s right. I went to Beijing [Peking] to visit with my daughter. Zao-hua, I hear that you have become the workpoint recorder.” […] Liu Lao-zheng pulled out an abacus from a sack he was carrying over his shoulder. “Huala, huala,” he shook it several times and said: “I bought one in Beijing. I’ll lend it to you to use.”
** 2020 August 7, Steven Lee Myers, Keith Bradsher, “Beijing Launches Another Demolition Drive, This Time in Its Bucolic Suburbs”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 August 2020, Asia Pacific‎:Backhoes moved house by house, laying waste to a community called Xitai that was built in a plush green valley on the northern edge of Beijing, only a short walk from the Great Wall of China.
** 2022 October 24, Yuan Li, “A Lonely Protest in Beijing Inspires Young Chinese to Find Their Voice”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 October 2022, Business‎:A protester unfurled two banners on a highway overpass in central Beijing on Oct. 13, denouncing Xi Jinping as a “despotic traitor.” China’s censors went to great lengths to scrub the internet of any reference to the act of dissent, prohibiting all discussion and shutting down many offending social media accounts.
** 2023 March 22, “China: Sandstorms blanket Beijing as air pollution spikes”, in Deutsche Welle‎, archived from the original on 22 March 2023‎:Beijing regularly faces dust storms in March and April due to its proximity to the Gobi desert as well as deforestation throughout northern China.
** For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Beijing.
* (metonymically) The government of the People's Republic of China. [from c. 1949]
** 1980, Melvin Gurton, Byong-Moo Hwang, China under Threat: The Politics of Strategy and Diplomacy‎, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, 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, Richard Nixon, “The Pacific Triangle”, in Seize the Moment‎, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, 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.
** 2022 June 2, Cate Cadell, Ellen Nakashima, “Beijing chafes at Moscow’s requests for support, Chinese officials say”, in The Washington Post‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 June 2022‎:Russian officials have raised increasingly frustrated requests for greater support during discussions with Beijing in recent weeks, calling on China to live up to its affirmation of a “no limits” partnership made weeks before the war in Ukraine began. But China’s leadership wants to expand assistance for Russia without running afoul of Western sanctions and has set limits on what it will do, according to Chinese and U.S. officials.
** 2023 June 15, Didi Tang, “Spotify removes protest song Glory to Hong Kong”, in The Times‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 June 2023, World‎:While Beijing has credited the law with restoring peace and order to the city, it has been criticised by rights groups and western governments for imprisoning pro-democracy activists and undermining civil freedoms.
** For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Beijing.

#### Usage notes

Rarely used until 1979. Can appear as Běijīng in English language texts with code-switching. Note that cultural terms such as Peking duck, Pekingese, Peking opera and Peking University usually still occur with Peking, though Beijing is sometimes still used: compare Beijing duck, Beijingese and Beijing opera etc.

#### Synonyms

* (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

#### Coordinate terms

* Nanjing

#### Derived terms

* Beijing bikini
* Beijing duck
* Beijinger
* Beijingese
* Beijing opera
* Beijing Time

#### Translations
### See also

Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China in English (layout · text) :
* Provinces: Anhui · Fujian · Guangdong · Gansu · Guizhou · Henan · Hubei · Hebei · Hainan · Heilongjiang · Hunan · Jilin · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Liaoning · Qinghai · Sichuan · Shandong · Shaanxi · Shanxi · Taiwan (claimed) · Yunnan · Zhejiang
* Autonomous regions: Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet Autonomous Region · Xinjiang
* Municipalities: Beijing · Tianjin · Shanghai · Chongqing
* Special administrative regions: Hong Kong · Macau

### References

* ↑ “Languages Other than English”, in The Chicago Manual of Style‎, Seventeenth edition, University of Chicago Press, 2017, →DOI, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 652: “Wade-Giles Postal atlas Pinyin […] Pei-ching (Pei-p’ing) Peking (Peiping) Beijing”
* ↑ Chung, Karen Steffen (2016) “Wade–Giles Romanization System”, in The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Chinese Language, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, →OCLC: “Some good choices still ended up causing confusion, such as the now nearly universal pronunciation of the Pinyin 'j' as in 'Beijing' as [ʒ] instead of [dʒ] as in jingle, which would be a very close approximation of the correct [tɕ].”
* ↑ Wade-Giles-romanization, in Encyclopædia Britannica: "The Chinese themselves experimented with several systems to transcribe local expressions for non-Chinese publications, but in mainland China these were all replaced officially in 1979 by the clearer Pinyin romanization system."

### Further reading

* “Beijing”, in Collins English Dictionary.
* Beijing, Peking, Pei-ching, Peiching at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.
* “Beijing, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* “Beijing”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* “Beijing”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
* “Beijing” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025.
* Saul B. Cohen, editor (2008), “Beijing”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎, 2nd edition, volume 1, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 359-360

## Asturian
### Proper noun

Beijing ?
* Alternative form of Beixín

## Central Huasteca Nahuatl
### Proper noun

Beijing
* Beijing (the capital city of China)

## Finnish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbei̯jiŋ/, [ˈbe̞i̯j(ː)iŋ]
* Rhymes: -eijiŋ
* Hyphenation: Bei‧jing

### Proper noun

Beijing (rare)
* Alternative form of Peking.

#### Declension

Possessive forms of Beijing (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Beijingini
accusative
nom.
Beijingini
gen.
Beijingini
genitive
Beijingini
partitive
Beijingiäni
inessive
Beijingissäni
elative
Beijingistäni
illative
Beijingiini
adessive
Beijingilläni
ablative
Beijingiltäni
allative
Beijingilleni
essive
Beijinginäni
translative
Beijingikseni
abessive
Beijingittäni
instructive
comitative
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Beijingisi
accusative
nom.
Beijingisi
gen.
Beijingisi
genitive
Beijingisi
partitive
Beijingiäsi
inessive
Beijingissäsi
elative
Beijingistäsi
illative
Beijingiisi
adessive
Beijingilläsi
ablative
Beijingiltäsi
allative
Beijingillesi
essive
Beijinginäsi
translative
Beijingiksesi
abessive
Beijingittäsi
instructive
comitative
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Beijingimme
accusative
nom.
Beijingimme
gen.
Beijingimme
genitive
Beijingimme
partitive
Beijingiämme
inessive
Beijingissämme
elative
Beijingistämme
illative
Beijingiimme
adessive
Beijingillämme
ablative
Beijingiltämme
allative
Beijingillemme
essive
Beijinginämme
translative
Beijingiksemme
abessive
Beijingittämme
instructive
comitative
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Beijinginne
accusative
nom.
Beijinginne
gen.
Beijinginne
genitive
Beijinginne
partitive
Beijingiänne
inessive
Beijingissänne
elative
Beijingistänne
illative
Beijingiinne
adessive
Beijingillänne
ablative
Beijingiltänne
allative
Beijingillenne
essive
Beijinginänne
translative
Beijingiksenne
abessive
Beijingittänne
instructive
comitative
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Beijinginsä
accusative
nom.
Beijinginsä
gen.
Beijinginsä
genitive
Beijinginsä
partitive
Beijingiään Beijingiänsä
inessive
Beijingissään Beijingissänsä
elative
Beijingistään Beijingistänsä
illative
Beijingiinsä
adessive
Beijingillään Beijingillänsä
ablative
Beijingiltään Beijingiltänsä
allative
Beijingilleen Beijingillensä
essive
Beijinginään Beijinginänsä
translative
Beijingikseen Beijingiksensä
abessive
Beijingittään Beijingittänsä
instructive
comitative

## French
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /be.dʒiŋ/

### Proper noun

Beijing ?
* (chiefly North America) Synonym of Pékin

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbeɪ̯dʒɪŋ/
* Hyphenation: Bei‧jing

### Proper noun

Beijing n (proper noun, genitive Beijings or (optionally with an article) Beijing)
* (uncommon) Synonym of Peking
** 2023 December 3, Shi Ming, “Chinas neue Westpolitik: Lieber zweimal hinsehen”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎, →ISSN:Als im September die deutsche Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock im US-Fernsehen Chinas Staats- und Parteichef Xi Jinping unverhüllt als Diktator bezeichnete, bestellte Beijing umgehend den deutschen Botschafter ein.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

### Further reading

* “Beijing” in Duden online
* Beijing, Peking at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Alternative forms

* Peking (“Peking”)

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bæjˈdʒɪŋ/
* Rhymes: -ɪŋ
* Hyphenation: Bei‧jing

### Proper noun

Beijing
* 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.

#### Derived terms

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

### References

* “Beijing” in Store norske leksikon

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Mandarin 北京 (Běijīng). Doublet of Pequim.

### Proper noun

Beijing
* Synonym of Pequim

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Mandarin 北京 (Běijīng).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bejˈʒiŋ], [bejˈʒiŋɡ]

### Proper noun

Beijing n
* Beijing (a direct-administered municipality, the capital city of China)

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /beiˈʝin/ [bei̯ˈʝĩn]
* IPA: (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /beiˈʝin/ [bei̯ˈʝĩn]
* IPA: (Buenos Aires and environs) /beiˈʃin/ [bei̯ˈʃĩn]
* IPA: (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /beiˈʒin/ [bei̯ˈʒĩn]
* Rhymes: -in
* Syllabification: Bei‧jing

### Proper noun

Beijing ?
* Synonym of Pekín