单程 (dān chéng) — one-way (ticket) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Means 'one-way' for tickets or trips — the opposite of 往返 ('round-trip'), which is the natural contrast. Almost always appears right before a ticket word (机票, 车票, 船票).

adjective

one-way (ticket)

Examples

单程。
Wǒ mǎi le yì zhāng dān chéng jī piào.
I bought a one-way plane ticket.
单程。
dān chéng Chē piào bǐ wǎng fǎn pián yi hěn duō.
One-way train tickets are much cheaper than round-trip.
单程？
Qǐng wèn yǒu dān chéng chuán piào ma?
Excuse me, do you have one-way ferry tickets?

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.

程chéngjourney

单 means single and 程 means journey, so the word denotes one-way travel.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

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

禾呈程

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

呈chéng程chéng

Same sound today

程 is made from 禾 (grain) and 呈 (pronounced chéng); the evidence gives measurements.

Appears in

Travel & Tourism

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