Kowloon

American  

[kou-loon] / ˈkaʊˈlun /

(Pinyin) Kaulun;

noun

1. a peninsula in southeastern China, opposite Hong Kong Island: a part of the Hong Kong special administrative region of China. 18 sq. mi. (47 sq. km).

2. a seaport on this peninsula.

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Kowloon British  

/ ˈkaʊˈluːn /

noun

1. a peninsula of SE China, opposite Hong Kong Island: part of the former British colony of Hong Kong. Area: 10 sq km (3.75 sq miles)

2. a port in Hong Kong, on Kowloon Peninsula. Pop: 2 019 533 (2006 est)

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Etymology

Origin of Kowloon

First recorded in 1845–50; from Chinese (Guangdong dialect) Gáu Lùhng “Nine Dragons,” in allusion to the eight mountains in Hong Kong and Zhao Bing ( 1272–79 ), the last emperor of the Song dynasty

Example Sentences

"We all broke down in tears," Cheung told AFP after watching 78-year-old Lai's sentence read out in a West Kowloon courtroom.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Now slightly askew, we ascend many stairs and descend many hills from The Old Man and cross the harbor toward Kowloon.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

Some of the defendants arrived at the West Kowloon Law Courts half an hour before the hearing.

From BBC • May 29, 2024

Five of these new, large-scale works were commissioned by a department of Hong Kong’s government for its outdoor art project, “Art@Harbour,” the harbor being Victoria Harbor, which separates Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Peninsula.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

The population of Hongkong, excluding the Military and Naval establishments, and that portion of the new territory outside New Kowloon, was according to the 1911 census, 366,145 inhabitants.

From The Opium Monopoly by La Motte, Ellen Newbold