TongTong
Sign in

撞车 (zhuàng chē) — (v.o.) to collide (of vehicles); (v.o.) to have a time conflict, to clash (of opinions or interests)

Definition

撞车 (zhuàng chē) is a verb-object phrase: literally 'hit car(s)' for vehicle collisions, and figuratively 'clash' for overlapping schedules or conflicting opinions. Always splits with 了 or other aspect: 撞了车, 别撞车.

verb
(v.o.) to collide (of vehicles)(v.o.) to have a time conflictto clash (of opinions or interests)

Examples

  • 。
    Zuó tiān mǎ lù shang yǒu liǎng liàng chē zhuàng le chē.
    Two cars collided on the road yesterday.
  • 撞车。
    Míng tiān de huì yì hé wǒ de yuē huì zhuàng chē le.
    Tomorrow's meeting clashes with my appointment.
  • 撞车。
    Tā men de kàn fǎ wán quán zhuàng chē le.
    Their opinions completely clashed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

撞zhuànghit
车chēvehicle

撞 describes a collision involving 车; the expression means vehicles, plans, or interests clash.

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shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
童
童tóng撞zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is the hand radical, written in full as 手, and the right side 童 supplies the sound.

Open 撞 →

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
Conflict & AgreementRoads & Traffic

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