Chinese word

汽车

Pronunciation

Pinyinqì chē

Meaning

  • nouncar

Example

我的汽车在外面。wǒ de qì chē zài wài miàn

My car is outside.

Illustration for 汽车 (car)

More examples

他每天开汽车上班。tā měi tiān kāi qì chē shàng bān

He drives a car to work every day.

Core concept

A road vehicle powered by an engine or motor that carries people or goods.

Common phrases

  • 一辆汽车yí liàng qì chē

    a car

  • 开汽车kāi qì chē

    drive a car

  • 坐汽车zuò qì chē

    ride in a car

Similar words

车chē: A general term for a vehicle that travels on roads.
公共汽车gōng gòng qì chē: A large road vehicle that follows a set route and lets passengers on and off at stops.
出租车chū zū chē: A road vehicle that carries passengers for a fare paid to its driver.
自行车zì xíng chē: A two-wheeled vehicle without an engine that moves when a person pedals.

Definition in Chinese

用发动机或电动机驱动的轮式机动车，通常指供人乘坐或运送货物的车辆。yòng fā dòng jī huò diàn dòng jī qū dòng de lún shì jī dòng chē tōng cháng zhǐ gòng rén chéng zuò huò yùn sòng huò wù de chē liàng

Word origin

汽 (qì, "steam or gas") + 车 (chē, "vehicle") originally referred to a steam-powered vehicle, while the modern word includes vehicles driven by fuel engines or electric motors.

Usage tips

  • Chinese counts cars with the vehicle measure word 辆 (liàng, "vehicle"), so a number does not stand directly before the noun as it does in English.

Related words

  • 小汽车xiǎo qì chēsmall carnoun

Word lists with this word