Transportation & Travel in Chinese 交通和旅行

Getting around China is a vocabulary problem more than a language problem: once you can say 地铁 (subway), 火车站 (train station) and 机票 (plane ticket), the system does the rest. This list covers the vehicles, the places they stop, the documents and bookings a trip needs, and the direction words that rescue you when 地图 fails.

• 74 words
• Tone-colored pinyin
• Audio pronunciation on every word
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• 火车huǒ chē
  train
  火车准时到了。

  The train arrived on time.
• 高铁gāo tiě
  high-speed rail; high-speed train
  我们坐高铁去上海只花了五个小时。

  Taking the high-speed train to Shanghai took us only five hours.
• 公共汽车gōnggòng qìchē
  bus
  我每天坐公共汽车去上班。

  I take the bus to work every day.
• 巴士bā shì
  bus (loanword)
  她赶上了巴士。

  She was in time for the bus.
• 公交车gōng jiāo chē
  bus (colloquial)
  乘公交车费时。

  The bus will take time.
• 汽车qì chē
  car; motor vehicle
  汽车准备好了。

  The car is ready.
• 电动车diàn dòng chē
  e-bike; electric scooter
  他骑电动车送孩子上学。

  He takes their child to school on his e-bike.
• 地铁dì tiě
  subway; metro; underground
  我搭地铁上学。

  I go to school by subway.
• 出租车chū zū chē
  taxi
  我等着出租车。

  I was waiting for a taxi.
• 自行车zì xíng chē
  bicycle; bike
  这是我的自行车。

  This is my bicycle.
• 摩托车mó tuō chē
  motorcycle; motorbike
  我想骑摩托车去。

  I want to go by motorbike.
• 飞机fēi jī
  airplane; plane
  他们组装飞机。

  They assemble planes.
• 船chuán
  boat; ship
  船驶入了港口。

  The ship was piloted into port.
• 开车kāi chē
  to drive (a car)
  他不擅长开车。

  He is not a good driver.
• 坐zuò
  to sit; to take (a bus, train, plane)
  老人坐了下来。

  The old man sat down.
• 车站chē zhàn
  station (bus or train)
  附近有个车站。

  There is a bus stop near by.
• 机场jī chǎng
  airport
  我现在在机场。

  I'm at the airport now.
• 校车xiào chē
  school bus
  在美国，校车是黄色的。

  In the United States, school buses are yellow.
• 渡轮dù lún
  ferry
  坐渡轮过河只要十分钟。

  The ferry across the river takes only ten minutes.
• 直升机zhí shēng jī
  helicopter
  他们被直升机解救。

  They were rescued by helicopter.
• 马路mǎ lù
  road; street
  咱们穿马路吧。

  Let's cross the street.
• 高速公路gāo sù gōng lù
  expressway; highway
  奥地利的高速公路是收费的。

  In Austria, you have to pay to use the highway.
• 人行道rén xíng dào
  sidewalk; pavement
  在人行道上走。

  Walk on the pavement.
• 斑马线bān mǎ xiàn
  zebra crossing; crosswalk
  过马路要走斑马线。

  Cross the road at the zebra crossing.
• 隧道suì dào
  tunnel
  日本最长的隧道在哪里？

  Where is the longest tunnel in Japan?
• 红绿灯hóng lǜ dēng
  traffic light
  到了红绿灯以后，往右拐。

  After you get to the traffic lights, turn right.
• 地图dì tú
  map
  墙上有张地图。

  There is a map on the wall.
• 旅行lǚ xíng
  to travel; trip; journey
  汤姆独自旅行。

  Tom traveled alone.
• 旅游lǚ yóu
  to travel (for tourism); tourism
  他们一起旅游。

  They traveled together.
• 景点jǐng diǎn
  scenic spot; tourist attraction
  瑞士有很多景点。

  Switzerland boasts many sights.
• 博物馆bó wù guǎn
  museum
  博物馆还展出了中国特有的珍奇动、植物。

  The museum also shows rare plants and animals found only in China.
• 美术馆měi shù guǎn
  art museum; art gallery
  我们周末参观了美术馆。

  We visited the art museum on the weekend.
• 动物园dòng wù yuán
  zoo
  我去了动物园。

  I went to the zoo.
• 海岛hǎi dǎo
  island
  她梦想去海岛度假。

  She dreams of vacationing on an island.
• 瀑布pù bù
  waterfall
  我看见那儿有个很美的瀑布。

  I saw a wonderful fall there.
• 城堡chéng bǎo
  castle
  这个城堡好美。

  The castle is beautiful.
• 教堂jiào táng
  church
  教堂位于山脚。

  The church is at the foot of a mountain.
• 地标dì biāo
  landmark
  这座塔是城市的地标。

  This tower is a city landmark.
• 机票jī piào
  plane ticket
  你买回程机票了吗？

  Did you buy a return ticket?
• 签证qiān zhèng
  visa
  我申请了签证。

  I applied for a visa.
• 护照hù zhào
  passport
  去拿你的护照。

  Go get your passport.
• 行李xíng li
  luggage; baggage
  你的行李多重？

  What's the weight of your suitcase?
• 行李箱xíng li xiāng
  suitcase; luggage case
  我要他提行李箱。

  I made him carry the suitcase.
• 酒店jiǔ diàn
  hotel
  附近有酒店吗？

  Is there a hotel around here?
• 旅馆lǚ guǎn
  inn; hostel; budget hotel
  打的去旅馆吧。

  Take a taxi to the hotel.
• 房间fáng jiān
  room
  房间没有桌子.

  There are no tables in the room.
• 预订yù dìng
  to book; to reserve
  我想预订一个靠窗的位子。

  I'd like to book a seat by the window.
• 航班háng bān
  flight
  我的航班晚点了。

  My flight was delayed.
• 值机zhí jī
  check-in (at the airport)
  国际航班要提前两小时值机。

  For international flights, check in two hours early.
• 登机牌dēng jī pái
  boarding pass
  请拿好登机牌和护照。

  Please keep your boarding pass and passport handy.
• 登机dēng jī
  to board (a plane)
  航班开始登机了。

  The flight has started boarding.
• 安检ān jiǎn
  security check
  当我们过安检的时候，我从队伍里被拉出来搜身。

  When we were going through security, I got pulled out of line for a pat-down.
• 出发chū fā
  to depart; to set off
  我们后天出发。

  We're leaving the day after tomorrow.
• 上车shàng chē
  to get on (a bus, train, car)
  请大家上车了。

  All aboard, please.
• 下车xià chē
  to get off (a bus, train, car)
  我下一站下车。

  I am getting off at the next station.
• 换乘huàn chéng
  to transfer (between lines, trains)
  我需要换乘吗?

  Do I need to transfer?
• 停车tíng chē
  to park (a car)
  这儿不能停车。

  You can't park here.
• 堵车dǔ chē
  traffic jam; to be stuck in traffic
  因为堵车， 我开会迟到了。

  Because there was traffic, I was late to the meeting.
• 单程票dān chéng piào
  one-way ticket
  我只买了单程票。

  I only bought a one-way ticket.
• 到达dào dá
  to arrive; to reach
  我昨天到达东京。

  I arrived in Tokyo yesterday.
• 迷路mí lù
  to lose one's way; to get lost
  他可能迷路了。

  He may have lost his way.
• 问路wèn lù
  to ask for directions
  问路总比误入歧途好。

  Better to ask the way than go astray.
• 导航dǎo háng
  navigation; GPS directions
  我开车全靠导航认路。

  When I drive, I rely entirely on GPS directions to find my way.
• 票价piào jià
  fare; ticket price
  五岁以下的小孩票价全免。

  There is no admission fee for children under five.
• 打车dǎ chē
  to take a taxi; to hail a cab
  我们打车去吧！

  Let's catch a taxi!
• 乘客chéng kè
  passenger
  万幸，没乘客受伤。

  Fortunately, no passengers were injured.
• 司机sī jī
  driver
  他们都不是司机。

  None of them are drivers.
• 前台qián tái
  front desk; reception
  她请了前台的人为她打那个号码。

  She has asked the person at the front desk to connect her to that number.
• 入住rù zhù
  to check in (at a hotel)
  汤姆和玛丽入住了一家高档酒店。

  Tom and Mary stayed at a fancy hotel.
• 房卡fáng kǎ
  hotel key card
  出门前要把房卡还给前台。

  Return the key card to the front desk before going out.
• 左zuǒ
  left
  我的左眼皮在跳。

  My left eyelid is twitching.
• 右yòu
  right
  我的右眼瞎了。

  I am blind in the right eye.
• 近jìn
  close; near
  杭州离上海很近。

  Hangzhou is close to Shanghai.
• 远yuǎn
  far; distant
  离这儿有多远？

  How far is it from here?