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车位 (chē wèi) — parking spot

Definition

A 车位 is a single parking space — one spot for one car. Use 停车场 for the whole parking lot; 车站 is a station (bus/train), not for cars.

noun
parking spot
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 。
    Lù biān yǒu hěn duō kōng chē wèi.
    There are many empty parking spots on the street.
  • 车位。
    Tā bǎ chē tíng zài le nà ge chē wèi lǐ.
    He parked his car in that parking spot.
  • 车位。
    Zhè ge chē wèi kě yǐ tíng liǎng liàng chē.
    This parking spot can fit two cars.

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.

车chēvehicle
位wèiplace

The first part names a vehicle, and the second names a place, so together they mean a spot for a vehicle.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Roads & Traffic

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