| 北方 | běi fāng | north / the northern part a country / China north of the Yellow River |   |
| 黑龙江 | Hēi lóng jiāng | see 黑龍江省|黑龙江省[Hei1long2jiang1 Sheng3] / Heilong River or Amur River, forming the border between northeast China and Russia | |
| 江南 | Jiāng nán | south of Changjiang or Yangtze river / south of the lower reaches of Changjiang / often refers to south Jiangsu, south Anhui and north Zhejiang provinces / a province during Qing times / in literature, refers to the sunny south / Gangnam (district in Seoul, South Korea) | |
| 长江 | Cháng Jiāng | Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang | |
| 中原 | zhōng yuán | Central Plain, the middle and lower regions of the Yellow river, including Henan, western Shandong, southern Shanxi and Hebei | |
| 黄河 | Huáng Hé | Yellow River or Huang He | |
| 海口 | hǎi kǒu | estuary / coastal inlet / river mouth / seaport / see also 誇海口|夸海口[kua1 hai3 kou3] | |
| 分支 | fēn zhī | branch (of company, river etc) / to branch / to diverge / to ramify / to subdivide | |
| 河流 | hé liú | river / CL:條|条[tiao2] | |
| 珠江 | Zhū jiāng | Pearl River (Guangdong) | |
| 流域 | liú yù | river basin / valley / drainage area | |
| 水流 | shuǐ liú | river / stream | |
| 水源 | shuǐ yuán | water source / water supply / headwaters of a river | |
| 河边 | hé biān | river bank | |
| 河水 | hé shuǐ | river water | |
| 汹涌 | xiōng yǒng | to surge up violently (of ocean, river, lake etc) / turbulent | |
| 上行 | shàng xíng | (of trains) up (i.e. towards the capital) / (of river boats) to go against the current / to submit (a document) to higher authorities | |
| 长三角 | Cháng Sān jiǎo | Yangtze River Delta (abbr. for 長江三角洲|长江三角洲[Chang2 jiang1 San1 jiao3 zhou1]) | |
| 珠三角 | Zhū Sān jiǎo | Pearl River Delta | |
| 河道 | hé dào | river course / river channel | |
| 大河 | dà hé | large river (esp the Yellow River) | |
| 潇湘 | Xiāo xiāng | other name of the Xiangjiang river 湘江[Xiang1 jiang1] in Hunan province | |
| 江水 | jiāng shuǐ | river water | |
| 下流 | xià liú | lower course of a river / low-class / mean and lowly / vulgar / obscene | |
| 下行 | xià xíng | (of trains) down (i.e. away from the capital) / (of river boats) to travel downstream / to issue (a document) to lower bureaucratic levels / (of writing on the page) vertical, proceeding from top to bottom | |
| 蜿蜒 | wān yán | (of a snake) to wriggle along / (of a river etc) to zigzag / to meander / to wind | |
| 华西 | Huá xī | West China (region in the upper reaches of Yangtze River and Sichuan Province) | |
| 江河 | jiāng hé | river | |
| 连绵 | lián mián | continuous / unbroken / uninterrupted / extending forever into the distance (of mountain range, river etc) | |
| 汉口 | Hàn kǒu | Hankou, part of Wuhan 武漢|武汉 / at the junction of Han river and Changjiang in Hubei | |
| 西岸 | xī àn | the west bank / West Bank of Jordan River | |
| 沿江 | yán jiāng | along the river / the region around the river | |
| 中游 | zhōng yóu | the middle stretches of a river / middle level / middle echelon / midstream | |
| 松花江 | Sōng huā jiāng | Songhua River in Jilin province 吉林省 / through Harbin 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[Ha1 er3 bin1], a tributary of Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江 | |
| 水浒 | shuǐ hǔ | edge of the water / shore or sea, lake or river / seashore | |
| 河畔 | hé pàn | riverside / river plain | |
| 漓江 | Lí jiāng | River Li, Guangxi | |
| 大峡谷 | Dà xiá gǔ | great valley / Grand Canyon of Colorado River | |
| 河口 | hé kǒu | estuary / the mouth of a river | |
| 爱河 | ài hé | the river of love / a stumbling block on the path to enlightenment (Buddhism) | |
| 淮河 | Huái Hé | Huai River, main river of east China, between the Yellow River 黃河|黄河[Huang2 He2] and the Changjiang 長江|长江[Chang2 Jiang1] | |
| 辽东 | Liáo dōng | Liaodong peninsula between Bohai 渤海 / and Yellow sea / east and south of Liaoning province / east of Liao river 遼河|辽河 | |
| 钱塘 | Qián táng | Qiantang River that loops around Hangzhou 杭州[Hang2 zhou1] in Zhejiang Province 浙江省[Zhe4 jiang1 Sheng3] | |
| 珠江三角洲 | Zhū jiāng sān jiǎo zhōu | Pearl River Delta (PRD) | |
| 沙地 | shā dì | sandy beach or river bank / sand dune / sandy land | |
| 河谷 | hé gǔ | river valley | |
| 河岸 | hé àn | riverside / river bank | |
| 契丹 | Qì dān | Qidan or Khitan, ethnic group in ancient China, a branch of the Eastern Hu people inhabiting the valley of the Xar Murun River in the upper reaches of the Liao River 遼河|辽河[Liao2 He2] | |
| 秦岭 | Qín lǐng | Qinling Mountain Range in Shaanxi forming a natural barrier between the Guanzhong Plain 關中平原|关中平原[Guan1 zhong1 Ping2 yuan2] and the Han River 漢水|汉水[Han4 shui3] valley | |
| 千岛湖 | Qiān dǎo Hú | Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang, aka Xin'an River Reservoir, created as part of a large hydroelectric project in 1959 | |
| 江面 | jiāng miàn | the surface of the river | |
| 长江三角洲 | Cháng Jiāng Sān jiǎo zhōu | Yangtze River Delta | |
| 泛珠三角 | fàn zhū sān jiǎo | Pan-Pearl River delta / The nine provinces of Southern China around Guangzhou and the Pearl River delta / South China | |
| 渡河 | dù hé | to cross a river | |
| 汉江 | Hàn jiāng | Han River | |
| 游弋 | yóu yì | (of a naval vessel) to cruise / to patrol / (of ducks, boats etc) to move about on a lake or river etc | |
| 东江 | Dōng jiāng | Dongjiang River | |
| 三峡大坝 | Sān xiá Dà bà | Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River | |
| 浩荡 | hào dàng | vast and mighty (of river or ocean) / broad and powerful | |
| 西江 | Xī jiāng | Xijiang River | |
| 水神 | shuǐ shén | river God | |
| 长江流域 | Cháng jiāng liú yù | Changjiang or Yangtze river basin | |
| 溯源 | sù yuán | to investigate the origin of sth / to trace a river upstream back to its source | |
| 钱塘江 | Qián táng Jiāng | Qiantang River that loops around Hangzhou 杭州[Hang2 zhou1] in Zhejiang Province 浙江省[Zhe4 jiang1 Sheng3] | |
| 黄浦江 | Huáng pǔ jiāng | Huangpu River in Shanghai | |
| 辽河 | Liáo Hé | Liao River of northeast China, passing through Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning | |
| 秦淮河 | qín huái hé | Qinhuai River, a tributary of the Yangtze that flows through central Nanjing | |
| 河滩 | hé tān | river bank / river shore / strand | |
| 鸭绿江 | Yā lù Jiāng | Yalu River, forming part of the China-Korea border | |
| 扬子江 | Yáng zǐ jiāng | Changjiang 長江|长江 / or Yangtze River / old name for Changjiang, especially lower reaches around Yangzhou 揚州|扬州 | |
| 河面 | hé miàn | surface of a river | |
| 汉水 | Hàn shuǐ | Han River (Hanshui) | |
| 田螺 | tián luó | river snail | |
| 岷江 | Mín jiāng | Min River, Sichuan | |
| 闽江 | Mǐn jiāng | Min River, Fujian | |
| 同舟共济 | tóng zhōu gòng jì | cross a river in the same boat (idiom) / fig. having common interests / obliged to collaborate towards common goals | |
| 背水一战 | bèi shuǐ yī zhàn | lit. fight with one's back to the river (idiom) / fig. to fight to win or die | |
| 山穷水尽 | shān qióng shuǐ jìn | mountain and river exhausted (idiom) / at the end of the line / nowhere to go | |
| 黄河流域 | Huáng Hé liú yù | the Yellow River basin | |
| 约旦河 | Yuē dàn Hé | Jordan River | |
| 莱茵河 | Lái yīn Hé | Rhine River | |
| 渭河 | Wèi Hé | Wei River in Shaanxi through the Guanzhong Plain 關中平原|关中平原[Guan1 zhong1 Ping2 yuan2] | |
| 江流 | jiāng liú | river / river flow / current | |
| 万泉河 | Wàn quán Hé | Wanquan River, Hainan | |
| 恒河 | Héng Hé | Ganges River | |
| 长江后浪推前浪 | Cháng Jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng | lit. the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before (idiom) / fig. the new is constantly replacing the old / each new generation excels the previous / (of things) to be constantly evolving | |
| 澜沧江 | Lán cāng Jiāng | Lancang River of Qinghai and Yunnan, the upper reaches of Mekong River 湄公河[Mei2 gong1 He2] of Southeast Asia | |
| 河套 | hé tào | river bend | |
| 罗纳 | Luó nà | Rhone, river of Switzerland and France | |
| 虎跳峡 | Hǔ tiào Xiá | Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Jinsha River 金沙江[Jin1sha1jiang1] in Yunnan | |
| 两河 | liǎng hé | the areas to the north and south of the Yellow River (in the Spring and Autumn Period) / Mesopotamia | |
| 嘉陵江 | Jiā líng jiāng | Jialing River in Sichuan (a tributary of the Yangtze) | |
| 大渡河 | Dà dù Hé | Dadu River in Sichuan | |
| 渭水 | wèi shuǐ | Wei River in Shaanxi, through the Guanzhong Plain 關中平原|关中平原[Guan1 zhong1 Ping2 yuan2] | |
| 雅鲁藏布江 | Yǎ lǔ Zàng bù jiāng | Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet | |
| 丁玲 | Dīng Líng | Ding Ling (1904-1986), female novelist, author of novel The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River 太陽照在桑乾河上|太阳照在桑干河上, attacked during the 1950s as anti-Party | |
| 河蟹 | hé xiè | river crab / Internet censorship (pun on "harmonious" 和諧|和谐[he2 xie2], which is blocked by the great firewall of China) | |
| 浑河 | Hún Hé | Hun River | |
| 富春江 | Fù chūn jiāng | Fuchun River in Zhejiang | |
| 险滩 | xiǎn tān | shoals / rapids / treacherous section of a river | |
