北 魏

Běi Wèidictionary entry

Wei of the Northern Dynasties (386-534), founded by the Tuoba 拓跋 branch of Xianbei 鮮卑|鲜卑

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-84b96cdaf5c3260f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

北魏 北魏 [Bei3 Wei4] /Wei of the Northern Dynasties (386-534), founded by the Tuoba 拓跋 branch of Xianbei 鮮卑|鲜卑/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

北
běi
north / (classical) to be defeated
魏
wèi
tower over a palace gateway (old)
Wèi
surname Wei / name of a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty from 661 BC in Shanxi, one of the Seven Hero Warring States / Wei state, founded by Cao Cao 曹操[Cáo Cāo], one of the Three Kingdoms after the Han dynasty / the Wei dynasty 221–265 / Wei Prefecture or Wei County at various times in history

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.