空车 (kōng chē) — empty vehicle (e.g., taxi without passengers, truck without cargo)

Definition

空车 (kōngchē) means a vehicle running without passengers or cargo — used most often for taxis and freight trucks. The focus is the vehicle being empty, not 闲.

noun
empty vehicle (e.g., taxi without passengers, truck without cargo)
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 空车，。
    Lù biān tíng zhe yí liàng kōng chē, sī jī zài xiū xi.
    An empty vehicle is parked by the roadside; the driver is resting.
  • 空车。
    Wǒ lán le bàn tiān cái dǎ dào yí liàng kōng chē.
    I hailed for a long time before finally getting an empty taxi.
  • 空车，。
    Zhè liàng huò chē shì kōng chē, méi yǒu zhuāng rèn hé huò wù.
    This truck is empty; it's not carrying any cargo.

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.

空kōngempty
车chēvehicle

空车 joins 空 (empty) and 车 (vehicle), meaning a vehicle with no cargo or passengers.

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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 →

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