紫禁城

Zǐjìnchéng

proper noun #44,946

Meanings

1 the Forbidden City
2 the imperial palace in Beijing

Characters

purple (Pole Star)

city / walled compound

Examples

HSK 2

我们明天去紫禁城参观。

Wǒmen míngtiān qù Zǐjìnchéng cānguān.

We're visiting the Forbidden City tomorrow.

HSK 2

紫禁城里有九千多间房。

Zǐjìnchéng lǐ yǒu jiǔqiān duō jiān fáng.

The Forbidden City has more than nine thousand rooms.

HSK 7-9

紫禁城是明清两代的皇宫。

Zǐjìnchéng shì Míng Qīng liǎng dài de huánggōng.

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Tips

history

紫 (purple) alludes to 紫微星 - the Pole Star, seat of the celestial Emperor in Chinese cosmology. 禁 (forbidden) marked the palace as closed to commoners. Same place is more casually called 故宫 (the Old Palace) today.

In Pop Culture

紫禁城 Zǐjìnchéng

the Forbidden City

The imperial palace complex in central Beijing, built 1406-1420 under the Ming Yongle Emperor and home to 24 emperors through 1912. Today it houses the Palace Museum (故宫博物院) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Stroke Order

紫 zǐ

禁 jìn

城 chéng