Meaning of 巴士
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- bus (loanword)
- motor coach
How to use 巴士
巴士 is common in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, and in mainland China it often means a tour coach, airport shuttle or long-distance bus. For the ordinary city bus, mainland speakers usually say 公交车 (gōngjiāochē) or 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē). Example: 我们坐机场巴士去酒店。(Wǒmen zuò jīchǎng bāshì qù jiǔdiàn.) We take the airport bus to the hotel.
巴士 (bāshì) is a sound loan from English "bus": say bā-shì quickly and you hear "bus". Picture the 士 (shì) in it as a scholar or soldier riding along, so 巴士 is a vehicle that carries people.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 士 (shì) with 土 (tǔ, earth). In 士 the top horizontal stroke is longer than the bottom one. In 土 the bottom stroke is longer. Also remember the verb is 坐 (zuò) or 乘 (chéng) 巴士, not 开 (kāi), unless you are the driver.
巴士 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.
巴 bā · to desire · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
士 shì · scholar · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 巴士.
| 女士 | nǚshì | lady; madam |
| 士兵 | shìbīng | soldier |
| 护士 | hùshi | nurse |
| 战士 | zhànshì | fighter; soldier |
| 嘴巴 | zuǐba | mouth (CL:張|张[zhang1]); slap in the face |
| 尾巴 | wěiba | tail; colloquial pr. [yi3 ba5] |
| 男士 | nánshì | man; gentleman |
| 大巴 | dàbā | (coll.) large bus; coach |
| 博士 | bóshì | doctor (as an academic degree); (old) person specialized in a skill or trade |
| 人士 | rénshì | person; figure |
| 硕士 | shuòshì | master's degree; person who has a master's degree |
| 爵士 | juéshì | knight; Sir |
Questions about 巴士
What does 巴士 mean?
巴士 (bāshì) means "bus (loanword); motor coach" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 巴士?
巴士 is made of 2 characters: 巴 (4 strokes), 士 (3 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 巴士 an HSK word?
Yes. 巴士 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 巴士 and 大巴?
大巴 (dàbā) is a mainland term for a large coach or big bus, built from the 巴 of 巴士. 小巴 (xiǎobā) means a minibus. 巴士 is the general word.
What measure word is used with 巴士?
Use 辆 (liàng), as in 一辆巴士 (yí liàng bāshì), one bus. For a bus route or a scheduled run you can say 一班巴士 (yì bān bāshì).