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天南地北

tiān nán dì běidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) far apart / (idiom) from different places / from all over / (idiom) (to talk) about this and that
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-c11058d16310c338. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

天南地北 天南地北 [tian1 nan2 di4 bei3] /(idiom) far apart/(idiom) from different places; from all over/(idiom) (to talk) about this and that/

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.

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 南
    nā

    used in 南無|南无[nā mó] / Taiwan pr. [ná]

    nán

    south

    Nán

    surname Nan

  • 地
    de

    -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct

    dì

    earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[piàn]

  • 北
    běi

    north / (classical) to be defeated

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.