Chinese word

乘务员

Pronunciation

Pinyinchéng wù yuán

Meaning

  • nounflight attendant

Example

飞机上有乘务员在发放餐点。fēi jī shàng yǒu chéng wù yuán zài fā fàng cān diǎn

There is a flight attendant handing out meals on the plane.

Illustration for 乘务员 (flight attendant)

More examples

起飞前，机舱的乘务员在检查安全带。qǐ fēi qián jī cāng de chéng wù yuán zài jiǎn chá ān quán dài

Before takeoff, the flight attendant in the cabin is checking the seat belts.

Core concept

The on-board worker who looks after passengers and keeps the practical side of a journey running smoothly.

Common phrases

  • 一名乘务员yì míng chéng wù yuán

    a flight attendant

  • 乘务员 发放餐点chéng wù yuán fā fàng cān diǎn

    flight attendant handing out meals

  • 乘务员 微笑服务chéng wù yuán wēi xiào fú wù

    flight attendant serving with a smile

Similar words

空乘kōng chéng: A cabin crew member responsible for passenger service and safety on an aircraft.
空姐kōng jiě: An informal term for a woman who works as a flight attendant.
列车员liè chē yuán: A railway worker who helps passengers board and leave and maintains order inside the train.

Definition in Chinese

在交通工具（如飞机、火车、轮船）上负责照顾乘客、提供服务并处理旅途中事务的工作人员。zài jiāo tōng gōng jù rú fēi jī huǒ chē lún chuán shàng fù zé zhào gù chéng kè tí gōng fú wù bìng chú lǐ lǚ tú zhōng shì wù de gōng zuò rén yuán

Word origin

The compound 乘 (chéng, "ride") + 务 (wù, "duties") + 员 (yuán, "person") forms a word for a person whose duties are connected with passenger travel.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may connect this job mainly with air travel, but Chinese uses the same general noun for passenger-service staff on several kinds of transport.

Other meanings

  • train attendantnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 乘务chéng wùin-flight servicenoun
  • 乘务长chéng wù zhǎngchief flight attendantnoun

Word lists with this word