首都 shǒudū — capital, capital city

Meanings

1. 1

   capital, capital city

   The city where a country’s central government sits — 首 head, foremost, 都 a major city. Every country has exactly one; a province has a 省会 instead.

   noun

Character breakdown

• 都

  dōu (first tone, high and level) dū (first tone, high and level)

  (dōu) all, both, entirely; even; already; (dū) a capital, a metropolis

  10 strokes⿰者阝Radical 邑

Example sentences

• 北京是中国的首都。/北京是中國的首都。Běijīng (third tone, dipping) shì (fourth tone, falling) Zhōngguó (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) shǒudū. (third tone, dipping)···

  Beijing is the capital of China.

• 这个国家的首都在南方。/這個國家的首都在南方。Zhège (fourth tone, falling) guójiā (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) shǒudū (third tone, dipping) zài (fourth tone, falling) nánfāng. (second tone, rising)···

  This country’s capital is in the south.

Similar words

Words containing 都

• 都dōu (first tone, high and level)all, both, every one of them
• 全都quán (second tone, rising) dōu (first tone, high and level)all
• 都会/都會dū (first tone, high and level) huì (fourth tone, falling)city
• 都市dū (first tone, high and level) shì (fourth tone, falling)city
• 大都dà (fourth tone, falling) dōu (first tone, high and level)for the most part