Chinese word

客车

Pronunciation

Pinyinkè chē

Meaning

  • nounbus

Example

下班后我乘客车回家。xià bān hòu wǒ chéng kè chē huí jiā

After work, I take the bus home.

Illustration for 客车 (bus)

More examples

节假日客车很拥挤。jié jià rì kè chē hěn yōng jǐ

Buses are very crowded on holidays.

Core concept

A road vehicle designed mainly to carry seated passengers along a regular route or scheduled trip.

Common phrases

  • 乘坐客车chéng zuò kè chē

    take a bus

  • 长途客车cháng tú kè chē

    long-distance bus

  • 客车票kè chē piào

    bus ticket

Similar words

公交车gōng jiāo chē: A bus that provides regular public transport within a city.
长途汽车cháng tú qì chē: A bus used for long-distance travel between cities.

Definition in Chinese

用于运送旅客的车辆，多指以座位为主、按线路或班次运行的公共交通工具或长途客运车辆。yòng yú yùn sòng lǚ kè de chē liàng duō zhǐ yǐ zuò wèi wéi zhǔ àn xiàn lù huò bān cì yùn xíng de gōng gòng jiāo tōng gōng jù huò cháng tú kè yùn chē liàng

Word origin

In 客车 (kèchē, "passenger vehicle"), 客 (kè, "passenger") identifies the people being carried and 车 (chē, "vehicle") identifies the carrier, making the word's function transparent.

Usage tips

  • English uses ride or take with this noun, whereas Chinese normally puts a riding verb before the vehicle noun instead of using the noun as the verb.

Opposites

Related words

  • 长途客车cháng tú kè chēlong-distance busnoun
  • 客车票kè chē piàobus ticketnoun
  • 客车司机kè chē sī jībus drivernoun

Word lists with this word