Kaifeng
Syllables: Kai·feng/kaɪˈfʌŋ/
Kaifeng proper noun: a prefecture-level city on the Yellow River in Henan, China, a former national capital.
Proper noun
Kaifeng
- A prefecture-level city on the Yellow River in Henan, China, a former national capital.
- For several weeks preceding the actual overflow of its banks the Hoang-Ho had been swollen from its tributaries. It had been unusually wet and stormy in northwest China, and all the small streams were full and overflowing. The first break occurred in the province of Honan, of which the capital is...1889, Willis Fletcher Johnson, chapter XXVIII, in History of the Johnstown Flood, Edgewood Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 322
- The supposed founder of the Chinese monarchy was Fu-hsi [about 2852 B.C.], and his capital was Kaifeng, now the provincial city of Honan. The early inhabitants of China are said to have lived in this Province.1897, P. N. Tsü, “Historical Description of China”, in The Geography of the Chinese Empire, Kelly & Walsh, →OCLC, page 9
Examples of Kaifeng in a sentence
- The first break occurred in the province of Honan, of which the capital is Kaifeng, and the city next in importance is Ching or Cheng Chou.1889, Willis Fletcher Johnson, chapter XXVIII, in History of the Johnstown Flood, Edgewood Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 322:
- Chengchow is on the Pehan (Peking-Hankow) railway, about fifteen miles south of the Yellow river, and about forty-five miles west of Kaifeng.1905, “Foreign Mission Board Report”, in Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention 1905, number 60, Nashville, Tenn.: Marshall & Bruce...
- It is learned that Feng Yu-hsiang has decided to abandon Kaifeng and Chengchow and withdraw his army to the west of Fulikwan and Heishihkwan.1929 June 1, “From the Chinese Press”, in The China Weekly Review, volume XLIX, number 1, →OCLC, page 32, column 1:
- Kaifeng has fallen and the vital city of Chengchow is endangered.1938 June 18, “Profits on Slaughter”, in The Nation, volume 146, number 25, New York, page 686:
Synonyms of Kaifeng
Forms of Kaifeng
| alternative form | Kai-feng |
|---|---|
| alternative form | K'ai-feng |
| alternative form | K'ai-fêng |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Caifung |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Caifong |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Caifum |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Kae-fung |
| alternative form (obsolete) | Kae-fung Foo |
Origin of Kaifeng
A romanization of the Standard Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 開封 /开封 (Kāifēng, “Opening Up the Borders”), reinforced by Hanyu Pinyin, named in the late 8th century BC by the Zhuang Duke of Zheng as he settled new territory.
Questions about Kaifeng
- What does Kaifeng mean?
- Kaifeng means a prefecture-level city on the Yellow River in Henan, China, a former national capital.
- How do you use Kaifeng in a sentence?
- The first break occurred in the province of Honan, of which the capital is Kaifeng, and the city next in importance is Ching or Cheng Chou.
- What part of speech is Kaifeng?
- Kaifeng is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Kaifeng?
- Kaifeng is pronounced /kaɪˈfʌŋ/.
Words near Kaifeng in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Kaifeng (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Kaifeng.wav.
Cite this entry: “Kaifeng.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kaifeng. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.