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旅客 (lǚ kè) — traveler; passenger; tourist

Definition

旅客 is a neutral, general word for a traveler or passenger — works on planes, trains, and buses. Compared to 游客, it implies someone in transit rather than sightseeing.

noun
travelerpassengertourist
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 旅客。
    Jī chǎng lǐ yǒu hěn duō lǚ kè.
    There are many travelers at the airport.
  • 旅客。
    Huǒ chē shàng de lǚ kè dōu zài kàn shǒu jī.
    The travelers on the train are all looking at their phones.
  • 旅客。
    Qǐng lǚ kè men bǎ xíng li fàng hǎo.
    Please put your luggage away, travelers.

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.

旅lǚtravel
客kèguest/person

“旅” (travel) and “客” (guest/person) combine to mean a person on a journey.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

旅 combines 㫃, a flag, and 从, two people, to show troops or a brigade.

Open 旅 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè客kè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Open 客 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Travel & Tourism

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