挂车 (guà chē) — trailer (vehicle pulled by another)

Definition

挂车 is the semi-trailer hauled behind a truck or tractor — i.e. the non-powered cargo unit itself, not the full articulated rig.

noun
trailer (vehicle pulled by another)
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 挂车。
    Tā mǎi le yí liàng guà chē.
    He bought a trailer.
  • 挂车。
    Zhè liàng kǎ chē hòu miàn tuō zhe yí liàng guà chē.
    This truck is towing a trailer behind it.
  • 挂车。
    guà chē De cháng dù bù néng chāo guò shí mǐ.
    The length of the trailer cannot exceed ten meters.

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.

挂guàhook
车chēvehicle

挂 suggests hooked or coupled, 车 is vehicle, together a trailer.

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 掛; 挂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺘Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卦
卦guà掛guà
Same sound today

In the traditional form 掛, the hand part ⺘ and the sound part 卦 show hooking or hanging something with the hand; this form was originally a popular form of 挂.

Open 挂 →

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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