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车库 (chē kù) — garage

Definition

A 车库 is a private garage — usually attached to a house, for parking or storing your own car. It is smaller and personal, unlike the public 停车场 (parking lot) or the industrial 仓库 (warehouse).

noun
garage
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 车库。
    Wǒ de chē tíng zài chē kù lǐ.
    My car is parked in the garage.
  • 车库，。
    Zhè ge chē kù hěn dà, kě yǐ fàng liǎng liàng chē.
    This garage is big and can hold two cars.
  • 车库。
    Tā bǎ zì xíng chē fàng zài chē kù lǐ.
    He put the bicycle in the garage.

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.

车chēvehicle
库kùstorehouse

The first part names a vehicle, and the second names a storehouse, so together they mean a place for keeping vehicles.

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 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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 庫; 库 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
車
車jū庫kù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 庫 pairs 广 (building) with 車 (sound); the building part points to a storehouse. The simplified 库 is a later shorthand.

Open 库 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Home & Housing5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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