候车 (hòu chē) — to wait for a bus or train (separable verb)

Definition

候车 is a separable verb meaning 'to wait for a bus or train.' Like other 离合词, it splits: 候车 → 等了半天车, not 等了车.

verb
to wait for a bus or train (separable verb)

Examples

  • 候车。
    Qǐng zài zhè lǐ hòu chē.
    Please wait here for the bus/train.
  • 。
    Tā zhèng zài hòu huǒ chē.
    He is waiting for the train.
  • 候车。
    hòu chē De rén hěn duō.
    There are many people waiting for the bus/train.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

候hòuwait
车chēvehicle

候 is to wait and 车 is a vehicle, giving the sense of waiting for a vehicle.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
矦
矦hóu候hòu
Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

Open 候 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.