Henan

//həˈnɑːn// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A province of China. Capital: Zhengzhou.

    "Heavy rainfall inundated streets and caused major rivers to burst their banks in the central province of Henan on Tuesday.[…] Henan is a particularly populous province and a major transport hub. It is also a key base for industry and agriculture."

  2. 2
    A Mongol autonomous county in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Huangnan prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Official name: Henan Mongol Autonomous County.

    "The very next day, Tenzin Nyima was transferred to a prison in Henan Mongolian Autonomous County for six days of questioning.[…] Once in Henan, Tenzin Nyima quickly came to know that Lodroe and Rigdrol, the monks who had helped with the flags, had also been seized."

  3. 3
    An island and former district, now part of Haizhu District south of the old urban core of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

Example

More examples

"Taoism was founded on the teachings of Laozi, a sage born in 604 B.C. in present-day Henan Province."

Etymology

From various romanizations of the Chinese 河南 (Hénán, literally “[land] south of the river (referring to the Yellow River)”).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.