Tainan

T1A1I1N1A1N1

proper noun

A major city in southern Taiwan, dating to the 16th century

UncommonScrabble 6

Meanings

proper noun

alternative T'ai-nan

  1. A major city in southern Taiwan, dating to the 16th century

    "Without him, what kind of life would we have today," sobbed an old man from Tainan.

    1975 April 20, “President Chiang still lives in hearts of people”, in Free China Weekly, volume XVI, number 15, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 8
    3 more examples

    Camphora officinarum, Nees. The aggregate exports of camphor from China have increased considerably of late years. They were 22,231 cwt. in 1892, and 40,763 cwt. in 1893. The island of Formosa yields the principal quantities, the yearly output being now as much as 41,650 cwt., shipped from the ports of Tamsui and Tainan.

    1895 March, P. L. Simmonds, “Notes on Some Saps and Secretions Used in Pharmacy”, in American Journal of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, page 128

    The Council of the Mission, at its headquarters in Tainan appeals to the Church at home to make the jubilee year worthy of the name by an endeavor to reach with the Gospel the yet unevangelized tribes of uncivilized aborigines on the eastern side of the island.

    1914 October, “Unreached Aborigines of Formosa”, in Missionary Review of the World, volume XXXVII, number 10, page 790

    Taiwan was fighting against time on Sunday to rescue some 120 people believed to be trapped in a building, which collapsed on Saturday when a 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern city of Tainan.

    2016 February 7, “After earthquake, Taiwan fighting against time to rescue trapped survivors”, in EFE, archived from the original on 17 May 2016

    Synonyms: Fort Orange, Fort Zeelandia, Fort Provintia, Tainan City, Taiwan, T'ai-wan, Phoenix City

  2. historicalA former county of Taiwan.

    Chungshe is one of eleven villages in Liuchia township, Tainan county (see Maps 2 and 3). It lies about 30 kilometers northeast of Tainan city.

    1972, Burton Pasternak, Kinship & Community in Two Chinese Villages, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 10
    2 more examples

    THE TAIWAN DAILY NEWS reported that worker Chou Feng-yuan of Tainan County lost his job because of illness. His whole family became poverty-stricken.

    1978 February 15, “Taiwan Workers Ill-Treated by Government”, in Daily Report: People's Republic of China, volume I, number 32, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Peking NCNA, →ISSN, →OCLC, People's Republic of China: PRC Media on Taiwan Affairs, page C 1

    At graduation from Lungtien Primary School in Tainan County, I received the County Magistrate's Award, given to the top-ranked student in the class. From there, I tested into Tainan County's junior high school, and during my junior year there represented Tainan County in the first national Chinese language essay competition, placing second.

    2000, Chen Shui-Bian, “Living and Growing”, in David J. Toman, transl., The Son of Taiwan: The Life of Chen Shui-Bian and His Dreams for Taiwan, Taiwan Publishing Co., Ltd., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 55

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA major city in southern Taiwan, dating to the 16th century

Origin

From Mandarin 臺南/台南 (Táinán), meaning "South Taiwan". Officially named ca. 1885 with the creation of Tainan Prefecture.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic تَايْنَان
  • تَايْنَان (taynān)a city in Taiwan
Chinese Cantonese 臺南 /台南
  • 臺南 /台南 (toi⁴ naam⁴)a city in Taiwan
Chinese Mandarin 臺南 /台南
  • 臺南 /台南 (Táinán)a city in Taiwan
Czech Tchaj-nan
  • Tchaj-nana city in Taiwan
Danish Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Dutch Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
French Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
German Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Hungarian Tajnan
  • Tajnana city in Taiwan
Italian Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Japanese 台南
  • 台南a city in Taiwan
Korean 타이난
  • 타이난a city in Taiwan
Norwegian Bokmål Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Polish Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Portuguese Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Russian Тайна́нь
  • Тайна́нь (Tajnánʹ)a city in Taiwan
Spanish Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Swedish Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Thai ไถหนาน
  • ไถหนาน (Tǎi-nǎan)a city in Taiwan
Turkish Tainan
  • Tainana city in Taiwan
Vietnamese Đài Nam
  • Đài Nama city in Taiwan

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

Tainan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tainan

MLA

“Tainan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tainan. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tainan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tainan.

Source: Tainan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.