乘客 (chéng kè) — passenger | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

乘客 is the everyday word for a passenger on public transport (bus, train, plane). Compare with 旅客, which stresses a traveler on a longer trip.

noun

passenger

Measure word · 位

Examples

乘客？
Zhè chéng kè yào zài xià yí zhàn xià chē ma?
Does this passenger want to get off at the next stop?
乘客。
Qǐng suǒ yǒu chéng kè guān bì shǒu jī.
All passengers please turn off your cell phones.
乘客。
Huǒ chē shàng de chéng kè hěn duō.
There are many passengers on the train.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

客kèperson

乘客 uses 乘 (ride) to qualify 客 (person), giving one who rides.

Characters in this word

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

乘 was drawn as a person climbing a tree, with the feet visible.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀各客

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

各gè客kè

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Social Roles & Status 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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