车辆 (chē liàng) — vehicle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/written collective term for 'vehicles' of all kinds. 车 is the everyday general word (car/vehicle); 车辆 sounds more official and covers the whole fleet, while 汽车 specifies motor cars.

noun

vehicle

Measure word · 辆

Examples

车辆。
Lù shang chē liàng hěn duō.
There are many vehicles on the road.
车辆。
Zhè xiē chē liàng dōu shì gōng sī de xīn chē.
These vehicles are all new cars from the company.
车辆。
Shǐ yòng chē liàng qián yào jiǎn chá.
Check the vehicle before using it.

Origin

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 輛; 辆 is its simplified writing.

車兩輛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūvehicle

Sound part声符shēngfú

兩

兩liǎng輛liàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 輛 uses 車 to show it is about vehicles and 兩 to indicate its sound; the simplified 辆 is a shorthand.

Open 辆 →