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机车 (jī chē) — locomotive; engine (power unit); (Taiwan) motorcycle

Definition

机车 primarily means 'locomotive' — the powered vehicle that pulls railway trains. In Taiwan the same word also means 'motorcycle,' which mainland speakers call 摩托车.

noun
locomotiveengine (power unit)(Taiwan) motorcycle
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 机车。
    Zhè liè jī chē shì chái yóu qū dòng de.
    This locomotive is diesel-powered.
  • ，机车。
    Zài tái wān, hěn duō rén qí jī chē shàng bān.
    In Taiwan, many people ride motorcycles to work.
  • 机车。
    Zhè tái jī qì de jī chē xū yào gēng huàn le.
    The engine of this machine needs to be replaced.

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.

机jīengine
车chēvehicle

机 gives the idea of an engine and 车 means vehicle, together naming an engine-powered 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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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 →
Appears in
Trains & TransitVehicles

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