Chinese word

车牌

Pronunciation

Pinyinchē pái

Meaning

  • nounlicense plate

Example

新车上了新的车牌。xīn chē shàng le xīn de chē pái

The new car has a new license plate.

Illustration for 车牌 (license plate)

More examples

她去车管所补办了车牌。tā qù chē guán suǒ bǔ bàn le chē pái

She went to the vehicle registration office to get her license plate reissued.

Core concept

The official marker fixed to a vehicle so the vehicle can be recognized and matched with its registration.

Common phrases

  • 补办车牌bǔ bàn chē pái

    get a license plate reissued

  • 蓝色车牌lán sè chē pái

    blue license plate

  • 新能源车牌xīn néng yuán chē pái

    new-energy vehicle license plate

Similar words

车牌号chē pái hào: The number assigned to a vehicle and printed on its license plate.
号牌hào pái: A registered vehicle's official plate showing the number used to identify it.
牌照pái zhào: A vehicle registration or operating permit and the official sign that displays it.

Definition in Chinese

固定在车辆前后或车身上，用来显示车辆注册号码并用于识别的金属或塑料牌照。gù dìng zài chē liàng qián hòu huò chē shēn shàng yòng lái xiǎn shì chē liàng zhù cè hào mǎ bìng yòng yú shí bié de jīn shǔ huò sù liào pái zhào

Word origin

The compound joins 车 (chē, "vehicle") with 牌 (pái, "sign or plaque"), giving the plain image of a vehicle's identifying sign.

Usage tips

  • The measure word 块 (kuài, "piece") fits this solid object, so it is useful when counting or describing individual plates.

Related words

  • 车牌号码chē pái hào mǎlicense plate numbernoun

Word lists with this word