Chinese word

划卡

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuà kǎ

Meaning

  • verbswipe a card

Example

请在闸口用卡划卡进站。qǐng zài zhá kǒu yòng kǎ huà kǎ jìn zhàn

Please swipe your card at the gate to enter the station.

Illustration for 划卡 (swipe a card)

More examples

在超市结账可以划卡付款。zài chāo shì jié zhàng ké yǐ huà kǎ fù kuǎn

You can swipe your card to pay at the supermarket checkout.

Core concept

A card moves across or close to a reader so the machine can recognize it and complete an entry or payment action.

Common phrases

  • 在闸口划卡zài zhá kǒu huà kǎ

    swipe a card at the gate

  • 进站时划卡jìn zhàn shí huà kǎ

    swipe a card when entering the station

Similar words

刷卡shuā kǎ: Have a card read by a machine to pay or confirm entry.
插卡chā kǎ: Put a card into a machine slot so the machine can read it.
刷脸shuā liǎn: Show a face to a facial-recognition device to verify identity.

Definition in Chinese

把银行卡或公交卡靠近或在读卡器上划动，让读卡器识别以完成进站、扣费等操作的口语化动词。bǎ yín háng kǎ huò gōng jiāo kǎ kào jìn huò zài dú kǎ qì shàng huà dòng ràng dú kǎ qì shí bié yǐ wán chéng jìn zhàn kòu fèi děng cāo zuò de kóu yǔ huà dòng cí

Word origin

划卡 (huàkǎ, "swipe a card") combines 划 (huá, "slide along") with 卡 (kǎ, "card"), making the card movement the name of the action.

Usage tips

  • The verb highlights the card-reading action rather than the purchase itself, so it also fits transport gates and other places where a card grants access.

Other meanings

  • pay by cardverb
  • run a card throughverb

Word lists with this word