Common Place Names in Chinese represent “morphemes”, or more precisely characters that function as suffixes (后缀) and help out with the morphological productivity of Chinese. Below is the list of suffixes with their translation and word examples.

Traditional Chinese Buildings

Man-made

Administrative

市 shìcity上海市 (Shànghǎi Shì) – Shanghai City城chéngcity墨西哥城 (Mòxīgē chéng) – Mexico City县xiàncounty文安县 (Wén’ān Xiàn) – Wen’an County区qūdistrict海淀区 (Hǎidiàn Qū) – Haidian District镇zhèntown水镇 (Shuǐ Zhèn) – Shui Town乡 xiāngtownship东乡 (Dōng Xiāng) – Dong Township村 , 邨 (HK)cūn, cūnvillage 渔村 (Yú Cūn) – Fishing Village州zhōustate, prefecture, or continent 杭州 (Hángzhōu) – Hangzhou (State/Prefecture)省shěngprovince 广东省 (Guǎngdōng Shěng) – Guangdong Province都dū capital京都 (Jīngdū) – Kyoto (also used historically for Beijing)府fǔ official residence, prefecture (historical)成都府 (Chéngdū Fǔ) – Chengdu Prefecture (historical), 总统府 (zǒngtǒng fǔ) presidential palace旗qí banner (used in Inner Mongolia)克什克腾旗 (Kèshíkèténg Qí) – Keshiketeng Banner (in Inner Mongolia, equivalent to county)盟méngleague (used in Inner Mongolia) 锡林郭勒盟 (Xīlín Guōlè Méng) – Xilingol League (in Inner Mongolia, equivalent to prefecture)司sīdepartment (under a Ministry)医政司 (yī zhèngsī) – Department of Medical Administration堡bǎofortress,fortified village, equivalent of “burg”长城堡 (Chángchéngbǎo) -a fortified area along the Great Wall厅tīnghall, government department (office, ministry)休息厅 (xiūxí tīng) – longe (in a hotel); 办公厅 (bàngōng tīng) – General Office关guān(mountain) pass, checkpoint, border crossing山海关 (Shānhǎiguān) -a famous pass near the Great Wall; 嘉峪关 (Jiāyùguān) – a well-known pass on the Silk Road.走廊zǒulángcorridor, passage瓦罕走廊 (wǎ hǎn zǒuláng) – Wakhan Corridor营yíngcamp, battalion难民营 (nànmín yíng) – refugee camp; 营盘 (yíngpán)/ 军营 (jūnyíng) – military camp墟/圩xū/wéimarket or a place where people gather to trade, market town南圩 (nánwéi) – a southern market or village衙yágovernment office or an official’s residence (historical)府衙 (fǔyá) – a provincial government office.

Architectural

General Structures楼 、 大楼lóu, dàlóutower,building办公大楼 (Bàngōng Dàlóu) – Office Tower大厦dàshàtower, tall building环球大厦 (Huánqiú Dàshà) – Global Mansion亭tíngpavilion湖心亭 (Húxīn Tíng) – Lake Pavilion殿diànpalace,hall太和殿 (Tàihé Diàn) – Hall of Supreme Harmony (the largest hall in the Forbidden City)宫 gōngpalace紫禁宫 (Zǐjìn Gōng) – Forbidden Palace (another name for the Forbidden City)院yuàncourtyard, institution, or an enclosed area医院 (医院) – hospital; 北大红楼院 (Běidà Hónglóu Yuàn) – Peking University Red Building Courtyard馆guǎnhall or official building, public space饭馆 (fànguǎn) – restaurant坊fāngsquare, ward望江坊 (Wàngjiāng Fāng) – Wangjiang Neighborhood场chǎngsquare, a large place used for special purposes天安门广场 (tiān’ānmén guǎngchǎng) – Tian’anmen public square, 机场 (jīchǎng) – airport塔tǎpagoda, tower雷峰塔 (Léifēng Tǎ) – Leifeng Pagoda门méngate天安门 (Tiān’ānmén) – Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace, a monumental gate in Beijing)堂tánghall for special purposes食堂 (shítáng) – dining room驿yìpost station 驿站 (Yìzhàn) – Post Station (a historical place where couriers could change horses or rest) 站zhànstation火车站 (huǒchēzhàn) – train station店diànshop, inn, place of trade酒店 (jiǔdiàn) – hotel

Religious or Ceremonial Structures庙miàotemple孔庙 (Kǒng Miào) – Confucius Temple 祠cíancestrall hall, temple岳飞祠 (Yuèfēi Cí) – Yue Fei Temple (Ancestral Hall dedicated to the famous Song Dynasty general Yue Fei)庵 (菴)ānsmall temple, hermitage观音庵 (Guānyīn Ān) – Guanyin Hermitage寺sìBuddhist temple少林寺 (Shàolín Sì) – Shaolin Temple观guānTaoist temple白云观 (Báiyún Guān) – White Cloud Temple岩yánlarge rock, cliss used to denote a location of a religious site龙岩 (Lóngyán) – Dragon Rock 坛tánaltar, platform used for ceremonial purposes天坛 (Tiāntán) – Temple of Heaven台táiplatform, terrace, it often refers to elevated land, a lookout point, or a ceremonial platform.观音台 (Guānyīntái) – a platform dedicated to the bodhisattva Guanyin.

Residential Structures邸dǐmansion, residence官邸 (guāndǐ) – official residence屋wūhouse 茅屋 (máowū) – thatched cottage第dì mansion, large residence (historical)国子第 (Guózǐ Dì) – National Scholar’s Residence墅shùhut, house, villa别墅 (biéshù) – villa庄zhuāngvillage, manor山庄 (shānzhuāng) – mountain villa居jūresidence, dwelling雅居 (Yǎjū) – Elegant Residence宅zháihouse, residence四合宅 (sìhé zhái) – Siheyuan Residence (a traditional Chinese courtyard house)

Garden Structures园yuángarden, area for special purposes果园 (guǒyuán) – orchard，幼儿园 (yòu’éryuán) – kindergarten，野生动物园 (yěshēng dòngwùyuán) – safari-park，陵园 (língyuán) – graveyard苑yuàngarden, enclosed area颐和苑 (yíhé yuàn) – Summer Palace Garden塘tángpond, reservoir月塘 (yuètáng) – Moon Pond

Infrastructure and Transportation桥qiáobridge卢沟桥 (Lúgōu Qiáo) – Lugou Bridge巷xiàngalley, lane烟袋巷 (Yāndài Xiàng) – Yandai Alley (a famous alley in Beijing)街jiēstreet 王府井街 (Wángfǔjǐng Jiē) – Wangfujing Street (a famous shopping street in Beijing)路、 公路、铁路lù，gōnglù, tiělùroad,street; highway; railway长安路 (Cháng’ān Lù) – Chang’an Road (a major avenue in Beijing), 京沪公路 (Jīng-Hù Gōnglù) – Beijing-Shanghai Highway, 京广铁路 (Jīng-Guǎng Tiělù) – Beijing-Guangzhou Railway道 、 隧道dào, suìdào road, path八达岭道 (Bādálǐng Dào) – Badaling Road (leading to the Badaling section of the Great Wall); 复兴隧道 (Fùxīng Suìdào) – Fuxing Tunnel (in Shanghai)码头mǎtóudock, pier天星码头 (tiānxīng mǎtóu) – Star Ferry terminal/ pier (in Hong Kong)港gǎngharbor, port维多利亚港 (Wéiduōlìyǎ gǎng) – Victoria Harbor (in Hong Kong)

Natural

Earth

Mountains山shānmountain, hill黄山 (Huángshān) – Yellow Mountain岭lǐngridge, mountain pass 武陵 (Wǔlíng) – Wuling Ridge峰fēngpeak珠峰 (Zhūfēng) – Mount Everest岗gǎnghill, ridge花岗 (Huāgǎng) – Flower Ridge垄lǒngridge山垄 (shānlǒng) – mountain ridge台táiterrace台湾 (táiwān) – Taiwan (lit. terraced bay)背bèiback (of a mountin)山背 (shānbèi) – mountain back头tóuhead, i.e. hilltop山头 (shāntóu) – hilltop顶dǐngsummit山顶 (shāndǐng) – mountain summit墩dūnmound, elevation高墩 (gāodūn) – high mound仑 lúnhill, ridge宝仑 (Bǎolún) – Precious Hill; 昆仑 (Kūnlún) – Kunlun岩yánrock, cliff泰山岩 (Tàishān Yán) – Taishan Rock崁kàncliff狮头崁 (Shī Tóu Kàn) – Lion’s Head Ridge (in Taiwan)嶂zhàngcliff五指嶂 (Wǔzhǐ Zhàng) – Five Finger Peaks (in Guangdong)Plains坪píngflatland, field 草坪 (cǎopíng) – lawn平píngflatland, field平原 (píngyuán) – plain原yuánplain,plateau蒙古高原 (Ménggǔ gāoyuán) – Mongolian plateau埔bù/pǔfield中埔 (Zhōngpǔ) – Central FieldBasins谷gǔvalley熊猫谷 (Xióngmāo gǔ) – Panda valley盆pénbasin鱼盆 (Yúpén) – Fish Basin窝wōnest山窝 (shānwō) – mountain hollow肚dǔcentral, rounded, or hollowed part of mountain, or hill山肚 (shāndǔ) – low-lying area of a mountain坜lìlowland东莞坜 (Dōngguǎn Lì) – Dongguan Hollow塘tángpond荷塘 (Hétáng) – Lotus Pond洞dòngcave石洞 (Shídòng) – Stone CaveIslands岛 、 半岛、群岛dǎo, bàndǎo, qúndǎoisland, peninsula, archipelago台湾岛 (Táiwān Dǎo) – Taiwan Island屿yǔislet钓鱼屿 (Diàoyú Yǔ) – Diaoyu Islet渚zhǔislet江渚 (jiāngzhǔ) – river islet䃟 zhǔislet (historical)石䃟 (Shízhǔ) – Rocky Islet

Water

Water Bodies湖húlake 青湖 (Qīnghú) – Green Lake江 jiānglarge river长江 (Chángjiāng) – Yangtze River河hériver黄河 (Huánghé) – Yellow River溪xīstream九溪 (Jiǔxī) – Nine Streams (in Hangzhou)涧jiànstream山涧 (shānjiàn) – mountain stream潭tánpool ,pond龙潭 (Lóngtán) – Dragon Pool海hǎisea渤海 (Bóhǎi) – Bohai Sea, 南海 (Nánhǎi) – South China Sea洋yángocean太平洋 (Tàipíngyáng) – Pacific ocean湾wānbay维多利亚湾 (Wéiduōlìyà Wān) – Victoria Bay峡xiágorge, canyon三峡 (Sānxiá) – Three Gorges, a famous section of the Yangtze River泉quánspring趵突泉 (Bàotū Quán) – Baotu SpringCanals坝bàdam三峡坝 (Sānxiá Bà) – Three Gorges Dam渠qúcanal, ditch红旗渠 (Hóngqí Qú) – Red Flag Canal (in Henan)Waterfronts滨bīnshore海滨 (hǎibīn) – seaside滩tānbeach金沙滩 (Jīnshātān) – Golden Beach岸ànbank河岸 (hé’àn) – riverbank浦 pǔshore江浦 (jiāngpǔ) – river shore畔 pànside湖畔 (húpàn) – lakeside

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