Meaning & use
Yangtze
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproper
The longest river in China and in Asia, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau eastward to the sea near Shanghai.
Grammar: A proper noun, so it is capitalized and usually takes 'the': the Yangtze. It has no plural.
Patterns
- the Yangtze
- along the Yangtze
- the Yangtze River
The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia.
Many large cities, including Wuhan and Nanjing, lie along the Yangtze.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is one of the world's biggest power stations.
proper nounproper
Used before 'River' as the standard English name of this river.
Grammar: In this fixed pattern the word 'River' follows the name: the Yangtze River. Do not say 'River Yangtze'.
Patterns
- the Yangtze River
- the Yangtze River basin
The Yangtze River basin is home to hundreds of millions of people.
Farming has shaped the Yangtze River valley for thousands of years.
Common combinations
- the Yangtze River
- The Yangtze River empties into the East China Sea.
- along the Yangtze
- They took a cruise along the Yangtze.
- the Yangtze basin
- Rice is grown throughout the Yangtze basin.
- cross the Yangtze
- Several new bridges cross the Yangtze.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Chang Jiang
- This is the Chinese name, also used in English; it means 'long river' and is now common in formal writing.
Commonly confused: Yangtze or Yellow River?
Yangtze vs Yellow River
The Yellow River (Huang He) is another major Chinese river, farther north; it is not the same as the Yangtze.
Practice
Which sentence uses the name correctly?
Choose one answer.
River names of this type take 'the': 'The Yangtze is longer...'. 'Yangtze' alone sounds incomplete, 'River Yangtze' reverses the usual English order, and 'A Yangtze' wrongly treats it as a countable common noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Yangtze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.