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游船 (yóu chuán) — pleasure boat; cruise ship (a boat used for leisure cruises or sightseeing on rivers, lakes, or coastal waters)

Definition

游船 is a boat built for leisure — sightseeing, cruising, or fishing — not transport. Unlike 轮船 (steamship, transport) or the general 船只 (any vessel), it specifically means a pleasure craft.

noun
pleasure boatcruise ship (a boat used for leisure cruises or sightseeing on rivers, lakes, or coastal waters)
Measure word · 艘

Examples

  • 游船，。
    Zhè tiáo yóu chuán yán zhe cháng jiāng xíng shǐ, yán tú fēng jǐng hěn měi.
    This cruise ship sails along the Yangtze River, and the scenery along the way is beautiful.
  • 游船。
    Zhōu mò wǒ men zū le yì sōu yóu chuán zài hú shàng diào yú.
    We rented a pleasure boat last weekend and went fishing on the lake.
  • 游船。
    Zhè sōu yóu chuán de jiǎ bǎn shàng yǒu cān tīng hé guān jǐng tái.
    This cruise ship has a restaurant and an observation deck on its deck.

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.

游yóutravel
船chuánboat

游船 uses 游 (travel) with 船 (boat), meaning a boat for cruising.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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
舟舟zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣船
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Open 船 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Boats & Water Travel

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