电梯 meaning in English

diàntī

elevator; escalator

HSK 4nounTraditional 電梯16 strokes

Meaning of 电梯

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

diàntī
  1. elevator
  2. escalator

Measure word: 臺|台,部

How to use 电梯

电梯 usually means an elevator, and it can also cover escalators in everyday speech. People often say 坐电梯 (zuò diàntī) or 乘电梯 (chéng diàntī) for taking the elevator. Example: 我们坐电梯上去吧。(Wǒmen zuò diàntī shàngqù ba.) Let's take the elevator up.

电 (diàn) means electricity and 梯 (tī) means ladder or stairs, so 电梯 is an electric ladder that carries you up and down. Notice 梯 has the wood radical 木, a reminder that ladders were once made of wood.

Common mistake: Learners often say 走电梯 or 用电梯 for riding an elevator, but the natural verb is 坐 (zuò) or 乘 (chéng). Also watch the tone on 梯: it is first tone tī, not tí or tǐ.

电梯 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

没méi关guān系xì,送sòng你nǐ到dào电diàn梯tī口kǒu。
No worries, I will send you to the elevator.
我wǒ坐zuò电diàn梯tī去qù了le二èr楼lóu。
I took the lift to the second floor.
我wǒ搭dā电diàn梯tī去qù了le四sì楼lóu。
I took the lift to the third floor.
汤tāng姆mǔ从cóng不bù坐zuò电diàn梯tī。
Tom never takes the elevator.
电diàn梯tī内nèi不bù准zhǔn吸xī烟yān。
You may not smoke in the elevator.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

电 diàn · lightning · 5 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

梯 tī · ladder · 11 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11

Related words

Words that share a character with 电梯.

电话diànhuàtelephone; phone call
打电话dǎ diànhuàto make a telephone call
电影diànyǐngmovie; film
电视diànshìtelevision; TV
电脑diànnǎocomputer
电影院diànyǐngyuàncinema; movie theater
电视机diànshìjītelevision set
电台diàntáitransmitter-receiver; broadcasting station
电视台diànshìtáitelevision station
电子邮件diànzǐ yóujiànemail
电视剧diànshìjùTV series; TV drama
楼梯lóutīstair; staircase

Questions about 电梯

What does 电梯 mean?

电梯 (diàntī) means "elevator; escalator" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 电梯?

电梯 is made of 2 characters: 电 (5 strokes), 梯 (11 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.

Is 电梯 an HSK word?

Yes. 电梯 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 电梯 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 电梯 is written 電梯.

How do you say escalator specifically in Chinese?

The specific word is 自动扶梯 (zìdòng fútí), often shortened to 扶梯 (fútī). In casual speech many people still just say 电梯 for both.

How do I say the elevator is out of order?

You can say 电梯坏了 (diàntī huài le), meaning the elevator is broken. A sign may also read 电梯维修中 (diàntī wéixiū zhōng), elevator under repair.