黄包车 (huáng bāo chē) — rickshaw

Definition

Traditional term for a man-pulled rickshaw, now mostly historical and tied to old Shanghai/Beijing street life. A learner will mainly meet it in cultural or period contexts, not daily conversation.

noun
rickshaw
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 黄包车。
    Tā zuò le yí liàng huáng bāo chē qù chē zhàn.
    He took a rickshaw to the station.
  • 黄包车。
    Jiē shàng yǐ jīng hěn shǎo jiàn dào huáng bāo chē le.
    Rickshaws are rarely seen on the streets anymore.
  • 黄包车。
    Lǎo běi jīng de jì yì lǐ yǒu bù shǎo guān yú huáng bāo chē de gù shi.
    There are many stories about rickshaws in the memory of old Beijing.

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.

黄包yellow-covered
黄huángyellow包bāocovered
联合Side by side
车chēvehicle

黄 gives the color, 包 suggests the covered body, and 车 is the 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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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 →

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