Chinese word

出租车

Pronunciation

Pinyinchū zū chē

Meaning

  • nountaxi

Example

晚上很晚了，还是坐出租车回去吧。wǎn shàng hěn wǎn le hái shì zuò chū zū chē huí qù ba

It's very late at night; let's take a taxi back anyway.

Illustration for 出租车 (taxi)

More examples

城市里经常很难停车，很多人就选择坐出租车上班。chéng shì lǐ jīng cháng hěn nán tíng chē hěn duō rén jiù xuǎn zé zuò chū zū chē shàng bān

Parking is often difficult in cities, so many people choose to take a taxi to work.

Core concept

A hired car turns a personal journey into door-to-door travel with a driver.

Common phrases

  • 坐出租车zuò chū zū chē

    take a taxi

  • 叫出租车jiào chū zū chē

    call a taxi

  • 拦出租车lán chū zū chē

    hail a taxi

Similar words

公交车gōng jiāo chē: A public vehicle carries many people along a regular route and picks them up at stops.
车chē: A general vehicle for transporting people or things.

Definition in Chinese

出租车是按需提供点对点载客服务的营运车辆，乘客按里程或计价器付费并由司机驾驶。chū zū chē shì àn xū tí gōng diǎn duì diǎn zài kè fú wù de yíng yùn chē liàng chéng kè àn lǐ chéng huò jì jià qì fù fèi bìng yóu sī jī jià shǐ

Word origin

出租车 (chūzūchē, "taxi") joins 出 (chū, "out") + 租 (zū, "rent") + 车 (chē, "vehicle"), so its name describes a vehicle put out for passengers to hire.

Usage tips

  • This kind of ride can be useful when buses or trains are not running, but service hours depend on the city.

Related words

  • 出租chū zūrent outverb
  • 出租车司机chū zū chē sī jītaxi drivernoun

Word lists with this word