车皮 (chē pí) — railway wagon, railway carriage

Definition

车皮 refers to the cargo wagon itself — the single railway car (not the whole train, which is 列车). The unit is counted with 节 (一节车皮), as shown in the examples.

noun
railway wagonrailway carriage
Measure word · 节

Examples

  • 车皮。
    Zhè liè huǒ chē yǒu èr shí jié chē pí.
    This train has twenty railway cars.
  • 车皮。
    chē pí Shàng zhuāng mǎn le méi tàn.
    The railway cars are loaded with coal.
  • 车皮。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài jiǎn chá měi yì jié chē pí.
    The workers are checking each railway 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
皮pískin or body

车 vehicle + 皮 skin or body, the outer body of a vehicle, hence a railway wagon.

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 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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