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通车 (tōng chē) — (of a road, bridge, railway line) to open to traffic; (of a locality) to have a transportation service

Definition

通车 focuses on the moment a road, bridge, or rail line begins carrying traffic, or on a place finally getting transport service. Nearer 开通, which is broader and also covers launching services, hotlines, or accounts.

verb
(of a road, bridge, railway line) to open to traffic(of a locality) to have a transportation service

Examples

  • 通车，。
    Zhè zuò dà qiáo xià ge yuè tōng chē, dào shí hou jiāo tōng huì gèng fāng biàn.
    This bridge will open to traffic next month, making transportation more convenient.
  • 通车，。
    Nà ge piān yuǎn de xiǎo zhèn zhōng yú tōng chē le, jū mín chū xíng bú zài kùn nan.
    That remote small town finally has transportation service, so residents no longer have difficulty traveling.
  • ，。
    Zài tái wān, hěn duō rén měi tiān zuò jié yùn tōng chē shàng bān.
    In Taiwan, many people commute to work by MRT every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

通tōngopen/let through
车chēvehicle/traffic

通 means to open or let through, and 车 refers to vehicles or traffic, so a route becomes open to vehicles.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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