的士 (dí shì) — taxi; (regional, esp. southern China and Hong K…

Definition

的士 is a regional/colloquial term for 'taxi', used mainly in southern China and Hong Kong. On the mainland the standard word is 出租车.

noun

taxi(regional, esp. southern China and Hong Kong) cab

Measure word · 辆

的士。
Qǐng nǐ bāng wǒ jiào yí liàng dí shì.
Please help me call a taxi.
，的士。
Zài xiāng gǎng, hěn duō rén zuò dí shì shàng bān.
In Hong Kong, many people take a taxi to work.
的士。
Zhè liàng dí shì de sī jī kāi dé fēi cháng wěn.
The driver of this taxi drives very steadily.

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.

白勺的

Meaning part形符xíngfú

白白báiwhite

Sound part声符shēngfú

勺

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

的 pairs 白, related to white or brightness, with 勺, which gives a clue to the sound. Its older form 旳 meant bright.

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Appears in