板车 (bǎn chē) — heavy-duty hand-pulled cart with a flat wooden platform; handcart used for transporting goods

Definition

noun
heavy-duty hand-pulled cart with a flat wooden platformhandcart used for transporting goods
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 板车。
    Tā yòng bǎn chē bǎ huò wù lā dào le shì chǎng.
    He used a handcart to pull the goods to the market.
  • ，板车。
    Bān jiā de shí hou, wǒ men zū le yí liàng bǎn chē.
    When we moved, we rented a handcart.
  • 板车。
    Nóng cūn lǐ cháng jiàn rén men yòng bǎn chē yùn liáng shi.
    In the countryside, people often use handcarts to transport grain.

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.

板bǎnplank
车chēvehicle

“板” (plank) and “车” (vehicle) combine to mean a cart with a flat board platform.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn板bǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

板 pairs 木 (tree) with 反 as a sound part.

Open 板 →

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 →

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