Where does “北京” come from?

北京 (Japanese) comes from Chinese Mandarin 北京, from Chinese Mandarin 京, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-gaŋ — hill, ridge, mountain.

北京 (Japanese): Beijing

Definitions

  1. Beijing

Ancestry of “北京”, step by step

北京 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese Mandarin 北京

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese Mandarin北京—
2Chinese Mandarin京—
3Proto-Sino-Tibetans-gaŋhill, ridge, mountain

via Japanese 北

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese北north; the North; a northerly, north wind
2Chinese Mandarin北—

via Japanese 京

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese京capital; Short for 東京; Short for 京都
2Middle Chinese京capital
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-gaŋ →Every word from Chinese Mandarin 京 →Every word from Chinese Mandarin 北京 →