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驱车 (qū chē) — to drive (a vehicle, formal/literary)

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to drive (a vehicle)', typically used in writing or news rather than everyday speech, where 开车 is the common choice.

verb
to drive (a vehicle, formal/literary)

Examples

  • 驱车。
    Tā měi tiān qū chē qù gōng sī shàng bān.
    He drives to the company every day.
  • 。
    Zuó tiān wǒ qū le sān gè xiǎo shí de chē cái dào.
    Yesterday I drove for three hours before arriving.
  • 驱车。
    Wǒ men qū chē qián wǎng jī chǎng yíng jiē kè rén.
    We drove to the airport to welcome the guests.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

驱qūdrive
车chēvehicle

驱 means to drive or urge, and 车 means vehicle; the action is aimed at driving a vehicle.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 驅; 驱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
區
區qū驅qū
Same sound today

The traditional form 驅 pairs 馬 (horse) with 區 as a sound part; simplified 驱 is a later shorthand.

Open 驱 →

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 →
Appears in
Roads & Traffic

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