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搭乘 (dā chéng) — to ride (as a passenger); to travel by (a vehicle)

Definition

Formal/literary 'to travel by (a vehicle)', almost always in writing (notices, announcements). Spoken 乘 or 乘坐 is more natural; 搭 is colloquial and broader (including rides in someone's car).

verb
to ride (as a passenger)to travel by (a vehicle)

Examples

  • 搭乘。
    Wǒ men dā chéng huǒ chē qù běi jīng lǚ xíng.
    We are taking the train to Beijing for a trip.
  • 搭乘。
    Tā měi tiān dā chéng gōng jiāo chē shàng xià bān.
    He takes the bus to and from work every day.
  • 搭乘。
    dā chéng Háng bān qián qǐng tí qián liǎng xiǎo shí dào dá jī chǎng.
    Please arrive at the airport two hours before boarding your flight.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

搭dātake/ride
乘chéngride

搭乘 pairs 搭 and 乘, both about riding in 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
荅
荅dá搭dā
Same sound today

搭 is built from 扌, a hand, and 荅, which gives the sound. The hand part points to actions done with the hand.

Open 搭 →

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

乘 was drawn as a person climbing a tree, with the feet visible.

Open 乘 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Vehicles

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