车号 (chē hào) — vehicle license number, registration number

Definition

noun
vehicle license numberregistration number

Examples

  • 车号？
    Zhè liàng chē de chē hào shì duō shǎo?
    What is the license number of this car?
  • 车号。
    Qǐng bǎ nín de chē hào gào sù wǒ.
    Please tell me your vehicle registration number.
  • 车号。
    Jǐng chá chá le yí xià nà liàng chē de chē hào.
    The police checked the license number of that car.

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
号hàonumber

车 names a vehicle and 号 its number, together meaning vehicle registration number.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 口口kǒumouth
  • 丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Open 号 →

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