北部

Why does 北部 look like this?

北 (běi) depicts two people sitting back-to-back, originally meaning 'back' or 'separate,' which came to represent the direction 'North.' 部 (bù) consists of 咅 (pǒu - phonetic) and ⻏ (the city/area radical), together meaning a 'division' or 'department' of a region. Together, 北部 simply means the 'Northern part.'