Yalu

Ya·lu
Y4A1L1U1

proper noun

A river on the China-North Korea border.

UncommonScrabble 7

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Ya-lu

  1. A river on the China-North Korea border.

    More recently, work has been opened in a town on the Yalu River, about 500 miles by boat from Dairen.

    1935, A. W. Yocum, “From Dairen, Manchuria-Organized 1925”, in Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention, Memphis, TN, page 206
    5 more examples

    [...]the Founder of that Family, who took the Name of Yuen, and who is known in Europe by the Name of Zing hi, or Zing his kan, but whom the Chineſe Hiſtory calls Tchin bi ſe, and Tai tſou, after he had conquer’d the King had thoughts of carrying the War into Corea: His General, called Leou co immediately made himſelf Mafter of the Towns ſituated upon the Eaſt of the River Ya lou;[...]

    [1739 [1735], P. Du Halde, “Geographical Obſervations on the Kingdom of Corea”, in The General History Of China, 2nd edition, volume IV, →OCLC, page 391

    The Tumen river separates Corea from Manchooria, except in the last few miles of its course, when it flows by Russian territory, the south-eastern corner of Siberia. The Yalu river also divides Corea from Manchooria.

    1895, Trumbull White, The War in the East Japan, China, and Corea, Philadelphia: P.W. Ziegler & Co., →OCLC, →OL, page 374

    In an effort to limit the war to the borders of Korea, the United Nations forces were prohibited by political directive from firing across the Yalu River—a prohibition which made a sanctuary of Manchurian territory.

    1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 176

    Soon after the start of the Russian-instigated North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, Peiping sent 200,000 “volunteers” across the Yalu.

    1973 May 27, “Mao still embraces Stalin cult”, in Free China Weekly, volume XIV, number 20, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2

    By this time, Kim II Sung already had the assurances of the Chinese that they would not allow his government to fall without a fight. So he retreated to Sinuiju, on the Korean side of the Yalu, just across from the Manchurian industrial center of Antung, and shouted curses over the radio waves at the United Nations, President Syngman Rhee, and the United States.

    1984, Edwin P. Hoyt, “To the Yalu”, in On to the Yalu, New York: Stein and Day, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 247

    Synonyms: Amnok, Amnok-gang

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA river on the China-North Korea border.

Origin

  1. Mandarin鴨綠 /鸭绿
  2. EnglishYalu

Borrowed from Mandarin 鴨綠 /鸭绿, ellipsis of 鴨綠江 /鸭绿江 (Yālù Jiāng)..

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 鴨綠江 /鸭绿江
  • 鴨綠江 /鸭绿江 (Yālù Jiāng)river
Hindi यालू नदी
  • यालू नदी (yālū nadī)river
Japanese 鴨緑江
  • 鴨緑江 (Ōryokkō)river
Korean 압록강
  • 압록강 (amnokgang)river
Cite this entry
APA

Yalu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yalu

MLA

“Yalu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yalu. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yalu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yalu.

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