车站 (chē zhàn) — station (train station, bus stop)

Definition

车站 (chēzhàn) is a full word for a physical 'station' or 'stop' (bus, train). 站 alone is the short form, used the same way in speech — choose 车站 for clarity or when paired with 个/处.

noun

station (train station, bus stop)

Measure word · 处, 个

Examples

车站。
Wǒ zuò huǒ chē qù chē zhàn.
I take the train to the station.
车站。
chē zhàn Páng biān yǒu yí gè shāng diàn.
There is a shop next to the station.
，车站？
Qǐng wèn, chē zhàn zài nǎ lǐ?
Excuse me, where is the station?

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

站zhànstop

The first part names a vehicle, and the second names a stop, so together they mean a place where vehicles stop for passengers or goods.

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.

立占站

Meaning part形符xíngfú

立立lì

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn站zhàn

Same sound today

站 has 立 on the left and 占 on the right; 立 relates to standing, and 占 gives the sound.

Open 站 →

Appears in