Meaning of 公共汽车
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- bus
Measure word: 輛|辆,班
How to use 公共汽车
公共汽车 is the full, standard word for a city bus, often shortened in speech to 公交 (gōngjiāo) or 公交车 (gōngjiāochē). It pairs naturally with verbs like 坐 (zuò) to ride, 上车 (shàng chē) to get on, and 下车 (xià chē) to get off. Example: 我每天坐公共汽车上班。(Wǒ měitiān zuò gōnggòng qìchē shàngbān.) I take the bus to work every day.
Break it into two words you may know: 公共 (gōnggòng) means public, and 汽车 (qìchē) means car. A public car that everyone shares is a bus.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up the tones of 公 (gōng, first tone) and 共 (gòng, fourth tone), saying both the same way. Also, 汽车 (qìchē) alone means car, not bus, so do not drop 公共 if you mean a bus.
公共汽车 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
公 gōng · public · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
共 gòng · common · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
汽 qì · gasoline · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
车 chē · car · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 公共汽车.
| 开车 | kāichē | to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual jok |
| 火车 | huǒchē | train |
| 上车 | shàng chē | to get on or into (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 汽车 | qìchē | car; automobile |
| 下车 | xià chē | to get off or out of (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 车上 | chē shang | |
| 车站 | chēzhàn | rail station; bus stop |
| 车票 | chēpiào | ticket for a bus or train |
| 打车 | dǎchē | to take a taxi (in town); to hitch a lift |
| 公司 | gōngsī | company; firm; corporation |
| 办公室 | bàngōngshì | office; business premises |
| 公平 | gōngpíng | fair; impartial |
Questions about 公共汽车
What does 公共汽车 mean?
公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) means "bus".
How do you write 公共汽车?
公共汽车 is made of 4 characters: 公 (4 strokes), 共 (6 strokes), 汽 (7 strokes), 车 (4 strokes). That is 21 strokes in total.
Is 公共汽车 an HSK word?
Yes. 公共汽车 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 公共汽车 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 公共汽车 is written 公共汽車.
What verb do I use to say I take the bus?
Use 坐 (zuò), as in 坐公共汽车 (zuò gōnggòng qìchē). Do not use 开 (kāi), because 开车 (kāichē) means you are the one driving.
Is 公共汽车 the same as 巴士 (bāshì)?
Both mean bus. 巴士 is a sound loan from English, common in Hong Kong and for tour or shuttle buses, while 公共汽车 and 公交车 are the usual words for city buses in mainland China.