盗车 (dào chē) — to steal a vehicle (formal, legal context)

Definition

盗车 (dàochē) is a formal/legal term meaning 'to steal a vehicle,' used in police reports and court contexts — far more official than colloquial 偷车.

verb
to steal a vehicle (formal, legal context)

Examples

  • 盗车。
    Zhè qǐ dào chē àn yǐ jīng pò huò le.
    This car theft case has already been solved.
  • 盗车。
    Jǐng fāng zhuā huò le yì míng dào chē zéi.
    The police caught a car thief.
  • 盗车。
    Tā yīn wèi dào chē bèi pàn le sān nián.
    He was sentenced to three years for vehicle theft.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

盗dàosteal
车chēvehicle

盗 means to steal, and 车 is the vehicle taken.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盜; 盗 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 盜 combines 㳄 (drooling/craving) with a vessel shape, meaning to covet someone else's possessions and steal; 盗 is the simplified writing of 盜.

Open 盗 →

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 →

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