Chinese word

飞船

Pronunciation

Pinyinfēi chuán

Meaning

  • nounspaceship

Example

那是飞船吗？nà shì fēi chuán ma

Is that a spaceship?

Illustration for 飞船 (spaceship)

More examples

载人飞船正在准备发射。zài rén fēi chuán zhèng zài zhǔn bèi fā shè

The crewed spaceship is preparing for launch.

Core concept

A vessel that carries people or cargo on a journey beyond Earth.

Common phrases

  • 载人飞船zài rén fēi chuán

    crewed spaceship

  • 无人飞船wú rén fēi chuán

    uncrewed spaceship

  • 发射飞船fā shè fēi chuán

    launch a spaceship

Similar words

航天器háng tiān qì: Equipment or a vehicle built to operate in space.
火箭huǒ jiàn: A vehicle driven by powerful jets to carry people or things into space.
船chuán: A watercraft used to carry people or goods across water.

Definition in Chinese

指在外太空航行、用于运送航天人员或货物的宇宙航行器。zhǐ zài wài tài kōng háng xíng yòng yú yùn sòng háng tiān rén yuán huò huò wù de yǔ zhòu háng xíng qì

Word origin

飞船 (fēichuán, "spaceship") is formed from 飞 (fēi, "to fly") + 船 (chuán, "vessel"), applying the familiar vessel idea to a craft that travels through space.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, this noun suits both real space missions and fictional space travel, so context rather than the word itself identifies the setting.

Other meanings

  • space vesselnoun

Related words

  • 宇宙飞船yǔ zhòu fēi chuánspacecraftnoun
  • 载人飞船zài rén fēi chuáncrewed spacecraftnoun
  • 无人飞船wú rén fēi chuánuncrewed spacecraftnoun

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