上下车 (shàng xià chē) — boarding and alighting (of a vehicle)

Definition

上下车 means 'getting on and off a vehicle' as a single action — often seen in transit notices about boarding and alighting safely. It's not used for general getting in/out of a car. The first syllable 上下 means 'up and down', not 'shǎng'.

boarding and alighting (of a vehicle)

Examples

  • 上下车。
    shàng xià chē De shí hou qǐng xiǎo xīn tái jiē.
    Please be careful of the steps when boarding and alighting.
  • 上下车。
    Dì tiě zhàn yǒu míng què de shàng xià chē zhǐ shì.
    The subway station has clear signs for boarding and alighting.
  • 上下车。
    Sī jī tí xǐng chéng kè zhù yì shàng xià chē ān quán.
    The driver reminds passengers to pay attention to boarding and alighting safety.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上下boarding and alighting
上shàngget on下xiàget off
联合Side by side
车chēvehicle

上 and 下 give getting on and getting off, and 车 names the vehicle; together they mean boarding and alighting a vehicle.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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