防弹汽车 (fáng dàn qì chē) — bulletproof car, armored vehicle

Definition

A 'bulletproof car' — a vehicle reinforced to resist gunfire, used to protect VIPs. Read as three syllables: 防弹 (fáng dàn) + 汽车 (qì chē), not fáng dàn qì.

noun
bulletproof cararmored vehicle
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 防弹汽车。
    Zǒng tǒng de fáng dàn qì chē tíng zài mén kǒu.
    The president's bulletproof car is parked at the door.
  • 防弹汽车。
    Zhè liàng fáng dàn qì chē kě yǐ dǎng zhù zǐ dàn.
    This bulletproof car can stop bullets.
  • 防弹汽车。
    Gōng sī mǎi le yí liàng fáng dàn qì chē lái bǎo hù lǎo bǎn.
    The company bought a bulletproof car to protect the boss.

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.

防弹prevent bullets
防fángprevent弹tánbullet
动宾Verb + object
汽车automobile
汽qìsteam车chēvehicle
偏正Modifier + head

“防弹” means stop bullets and “汽车” means automobile, so it is a car protected from bullets.

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng防fáng
Same sound today

防 pairs 阝 (written fully as 阜) with 方, which gives the sound.

Open 防 →

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì汽
Same sound today

The 氵 part is water, and 气 is used for the sound and also means air, so 汽 shows water in an air-like form.

Open 汽 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.