Learn Hardcore Chinese: yínháng zài gōngyuán běibiān.

The northern side of something:
- 学校在河的北边。 “The school is on the north side of the river.”
A general northern area (more vague):
- 我住在城北边。 “I live in the northern part of the city.”

So it’s more like “north side” than a pure direction word “north.”

What is the difference between 北边 (běibiān), 北面 (běimiàn), and 北方 (běifāng)?

All relate to “north,” but they’re used slightly differently:

北边 / 北面
- Very similar in everyday speech.
- Mean “north side” / “to the north” (relative to something).
- Often interchangeable:
  - 银行在公园北边。
  - 银行在公园北面。
    Both are fine and natural.
北方
- More like “the North” as a region.
- Often used for larger-scale geography:
  - 中国北方 “northern China”
  - 我来自北方。 “I come from the North.”

In this sentence about a park, 北边 or 北面 are the natural choices, not 北方.

Can I also say 银行在公园的北边? What’s the difference if I add 的 (de)?

Yes, you can say:

银行在公园的北边。

Adding 的 here is grammatically correct and sounds natural.

Difference:

公园北边 (without 的) is a bit more concise/colloquial.
公园的北边 is slightly more explicit and can sound a bit more formal or careful.

In modern usage:

For short, common place words (家, 学校, 公园, 医院, etc.), dropping 的 is very common:
- 学校附近 / 学校的附近
- 医院旁边 / 医院的旁边
Both forms are acceptable; context and personal style decide which one people use.

So:

银行在公园北边。
银行在公园的北边。
Meaning is the same.

Is 北边 (běibiān) pronounced with two full third and first tones, or is 边 (biān) neutral tone here?

Standard pronunciation is:

北边：běi·bian
- 北 (běi): 3rd tone
- 边 (bian): often neutral tone in everyday speech

So you’ll commonly hear it as běi·bian, with 边 de-stressed.

In careful speech or when you say the word in isolation (e.g., reading from a list), you might hear běibiān, but in natural sentences it’s very common for 边 in direction words (北边, 南边, 前边, 后边, 旁边) to be neutral tone.

Why is 行 in 银行 (yínháng) pronounced háng and not xíng?

The character 行 has multiple common pronunciations:

xíng – “to walk,” “to be OK,” “to work/operate”
- 行走 “to walk”
- 可以，不行。 “It’s OK; no, it doesn’t work.”
háng – “line” / “row” / “profession” / “business line,” and in many business-related words:
- 银行 yínháng “bank”
- 航行 hángxíng “to sail” (note: first syllable also háng)
- 行业 hángyè “industry”

In 银行, the meaning is “bank” as a type of financial business line, so the pronunciation is háng:

银行：yín–háng, not ✗ yín–xíng.

Does 在 (zài) mean “at,” “in” or “on”? How should I think about it here?

在 is a general location marker, and which English preposition you use depends on context:

“at”: 我在银行。 “I’m at the bank.”
“in”: 他在公园。 “He’s in the park.”
“on”: 书在桌子上。 “The book is on the table.”

In this sentence, 在 is just marking location:

银行在公园北边。
“The bank is (located) at/on the north side of the park.”

So instead of memorizing separate words for “at/in/on,” think:
> 在 = ‘to be located at’ (followed by a place phrase).

Could I say 公园北边有一个银行 instead? What’s the difference between using 在 and using 有?

Yes, you can say:

公园北边有一个银行。

Difference in structure and focus:

银行在公园北边。
- Pattern: [thing] + 在 + [place]
- Focus is on the bank and telling you where it is.
- Often used when the bank is already known in the conversation.
公园北边有一个银行。
- Pattern: [place] + 有 + [thing]
- Focus is on the place and what exists there.
- Often used to introduce the bank as new information:
  “There is a bank to the north of the park.”

Both are correct; they just answer slightly different questions:

“Where is the bank?” → 银行在公园北边。
“What’s north of the park?” / “Is there a bank near the park?” → 公园北边有一个银行。

Do I need a word like “one” or a classifier, like 一个 / 一家银行, in this sentence?

In 银行在公园北边。, 银行 is treated as “the bank” (a specific bank already known or obvious from context).

If you want to say “a bank” as new information, especially with 有, you usually add a measure word:

公园北边有一座/一家银行。
“There is a bank to the north of the park.”

Common classifiers for 银行:

家 jiā – for companies, shops, institutions (colloquial and very common).
座 zuò – for buildings (more formal/literary).

So:

银行在公园北边。 – “The bank is north of the park.”
公园北边有一家银行。 – “There is a (certain) bank north of the park.”

Can I say 银行在北边公园? Does that mean the same thing?

No, 银行在北边公园 is not a natural way to express this idea and would likely be understood (if at all) as something like “The bank is in the northern park,” which is different.

Why:

北边公园 would be interpreted as “northern park” (a park that is in the northern area), not “the north side of the park.”
In Chinese, you need to say “the north side of the park” explicitly:

Correct forms:

银行在公园北边。
银行在公园的北边。
公园北边有一家银行。

So keep the pattern: [reference place] + 北边, not 北边 + [reference place].

Is 公园北边 a single unit meaning “north of the park,” or should I think of it as 公园 + 北边?

It’s best to think of it as:

公园 (the park)
- 北边 (north side / northern area)

Together they form a place phrase:

公园北边 = “the north side of the park / the area to the north of the park”

This is a very common pattern:

学校门口 “in front of the school” (school + gate/mouth)
房子外边 “outside the house”
河对面 “across the river / on the other side of the river”

So 公园北边 functions as one location phrase, but internally it’s clearly [place] + [direction word].