A sign pointing to the four exists from a metro station: A = NW gate; B = NE gate; C = SE gate; D = SW gate. It is useful to know the signs for the four cardinal directions as these often show up in Chinese placenames.
The following discussion about the Chinese language reflects my current understanding which is probably shallow and/or incorrect.
| Character | Pinyin | English | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 口 | kǒu | opening | |
| 出 | go out, send out; stand; produce | Used on exit-signs, as a short form of 出口 | |
| 入 | enter | Used on entrance-signs, in 入口 | |
| 亞 | ia [BUG] | Asia | traditional character |
| 北 | bei | North | |
| 京 | jing | capital, Beijing | |
| 大 | dà | big | |
| 门 | mén | gate | |
| 一 | 1 | ||
| 二 | 2 | ||
| 三 | 3 | ||
| 西 | xi | west | |
| 木 | tree | ||
| 林 | forest | ||
| 森 | forest | ||
| 元 | yuán | yuan | |
| 宫 | palace | ||
| 人 | man, person | Don't confuse 入 with 人 | |
| 中 | middle, center | ||
| 国 | country | ||
| 天 | tiān | heaven | |
| 街 | jiē | street | |
| 四 | sì | 4 | |
| 十 | shí | 10 | |
| 小 | small | ||
| 下 | xià | next, down | |
| 日 | day, Sun, Japan | ||
| 月 | month, Moon | ||
| 友 | you | friend | |
| 山 | shān | mountain | |
| 风 | fēng | wind | |
| 水 | shuǐ | water | |
| 网 | wǎng | net | |
| 王 | king | ||
| 玉 | yù | jade | |
| 米 | mǐ | rice | |
| 明 | míng | Ming, enlightened | Sun + Moon |
| 安 | Ān | peace | Roof over a woman |
| 女 | nǚ | woman | |
| 犬 | quǎn | dog | |
| 上 | up, previous | ||
| 休 | xiū | rest | man + tree |
| 火 | fire | ||
| 田 | rice field | ||
| 門 | gate, door | traditional character | |
| 兑 | cash, exchange | ||
| 囍 | double happiness | See also Wikipedia: Double Happiness (calligraphy). | |
| 全 | full |
Frequent characters in Chinese place names (e.g. metro station names) stand for: gate, west, north, east, bridge, way, garden, opening, street, peace, south, court/garden/park, benefit, big, 4, heaven, vertical, public, village (?), new.
门 29 西 17 北 16 东 13 桥 13 路 10 园 9 口 8 街 8 安 7
See also List of characters found in the names of Beijing metro stations sorted by frequency, based on Wikipedia: List of Beijing Subway stations.
A sign pointing to the four exists from a metro station: A = NW gate; B = NE gate; C = SE gate; D = SW gate. It is useful to know the signs for the four cardinal directions as these often show up in Chinese placenames.
| Pinyin | English | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Nǐ hǎo | Hello! | |
| Xièxiè | Thank you! | |
| Bùyǒu | Don't want | ? |
| Wǒ xiǎng yǒu mǐfàn | I would like to have (steamed) rice |