坐船 (zuò chuán) — to take a boat; to go by boat | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

坐船 is a 离合词 (separable verb): insert 过一次/过/回 between 坐 and 船, as in 坐过一次船. It means traveling by boat, pairing with 坐 + a vehicle, while 坐车 means by car/bus.

verb

to take a boatto go by boat

Examples

坐船。
Wǒ men míng tiān zuò chuán qù nà ge dǎo.
We'll take a boat to that island tomorrow.
，。
Wǒ zuò guò yí cì chuán, gǎn jué hěn bù shū fu.
I've taken a boat once, and it felt very uncomfortable.
，。
Tā xǐ huan zuò chuán lǚ xíng, yīn wèi kě yǐ kàn hǎi jǐng.
He likes traveling by boat because he can see the sea view.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

坐zuòsit; ride

'坐' means to ride or sit in, '船' is the boat, together meaning to travel by boat.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

留留liúto stay
土土tǔground

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

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

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕣

㕣㕣船

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Appears in

Boats & Water Travel

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