Chinese word

高铁

Pronunciation

Pinyingāo tiě

Meaning

  • nounhigh-speed rail

Example

我们坐高铁去北京。wǒ men zuò gāo tiě qù běi jīng

We go to Beijing by high-speed rail.

Illustration for 高铁 (high-speed rail)

More examples

从上海乘高铁到杭州只要半小时。cóng shàng hǎi chéng gāo tiě dào háng zhōu zhǐ yào bàn xiǎo shí

It takes only half an hour to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou by high-speed rail.

Core concept

A modern intercity passenger link in which specialized trains and their supporting railway form one fast transport system.

Common phrases

  • 乘高铁chéng gāo tiě

    take high-speed rail

  • 买高铁票mǎi gāo tiě piào

    buy a high-speed rail ticket

  • 到高铁站dào gāo tiě zhàn

    arrive at a high-speed rail station

  • 在高铁上zài gāo tiě shàng

    on high-speed rail

Similar words

火车huǒ chē: A general train that runs on railway tracks.
飞机fēi jī: A passenger aircraft that flies between cities.

Definition in Chinese

指以动车组在设计时速较高的铁路线以及在其上运行的列车，通常用于城市之间的快速客运。zhǐ yǐ dòng chē zǔ zài shè jì shí sù jiào gāo de tiě lù xiàn yǐ jí zài qí shàng yùn xíng de liè chē tōng cháng yòng yú chéng shì zhī jiān de kuài sù kè yùn

Word origin

高铁 (gāotiě, "high-speed rail") is the shortened form of 高速铁路 (gāosù tiělù, "high-speed railway"), made from 高 (gāo, "high") + 铁 (tiě, "iron") to mark high-speed railways.

Usage tips

  • When a booking is discussed, a departure time and station still need to be added because this word alone does not identify a particular service.

Other meanings

  • high-speed trainnoun
  • high-speed rail networknoun

Opposites

  • 普通列车pǔ tōng liè chēordinary trainnoun
  • 慢车màn chēslow trainnoun

Related words

  • 高铁站gāo tiě zhànhigh-speed rail stationnoun
  • 高铁票gāo tiě piàohigh-speed rail ticketnoun
  • 高铁网gāo tiě wǎnghigh-speed rail networknoun

Word lists with this word