Meaning of 地铁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- underground railway; subway
- subway train
How to use 地铁
地铁 is the everyday word for a subway or metro system in mainland China, and it can mean both the system and the train itself. You usually take it with the verb 坐 (zuò). Example: 我每天坐地铁上班。(Wǒ měitiān zuò dìtiě shàngbān.) I take the subway to work every day.
地 (dì) means ground or earth, and 铁 (tiě) means iron, as in 铁路 (tiělù) railway. An iron railway running under the ground is a 地铁, the subway.
Common mistake: Learners often say 开地铁 or 骑地铁 when they mean riding it, but as a passenger you 坐地铁 (zuò dìtiě). Also keep both tones falling then dipping: dì is fourth tone and tiě is third tone, not tiē.
地铁 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.
地 de · -ly · 6 strokes
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- 2
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- 4
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铁 tiě · iron · 10 strokes
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- 2
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Related words
Words that share a character with 地铁.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 地上 | dìshang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 地点 | dìdiǎn | place; site |
| 地图 | dìtú | map |
| 地球 | dìqiú | the earth |
| 草地 | cǎodì | lawn; meadow |
| 外地 | wàidì | parts of the country other than where one is |
| 地铁站 | dìtiězhàn | subway station |
| 地区 | dìqū | region; area (informal or geographical term); prefecture (in China's administrative system |
| 当地 | dāngdì | local |
| 铁路 | tiělù | railroad; railway |
| 各地 | gèdì | in all parts of (a country); various regions |
Questions about 地铁
What does 地铁 mean?
地铁 (dìtiě) means "underground railway; subway; subway train" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 地铁?
地铁 is made of 2 characters: 地 (6 strokes), 铁 (10 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 地铁 an HSK word?
Yes. 地铁 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 地铁 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 地铁 is written 地鐵.
How do I say subway station and subway line in Chinese?
A subway station is 地铁站 (dìtiězhàn), and a subway line is 地铁线 (dìtiěxiàn) or simply 号线 (hàoxiàn) after a number, as in 二号线 (èr hàoxiàn) Line 2.
Is 地铁 used everywhere Chinese is spoken?
It is standard in mainland China. In Taiwan people often say 捷运 (jiéyùn), and in Hong Kong the system is commonly called 港铁 (Gǎngtiě), though 地铁 is still widely understood.