Meaning of 电车
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- tram; streetcar
- trolleybus
- electric car
- e-bike
- (in the context of Japan) electric train
How to use 电车
In mainland China, 电车 usually means a tram or trolleybus running on overhead wires, and in casual speech it can also mean an electric car or e-bike. When talking about Japan, it refers to ordinary electric trains. Example: 我每天坐电车上班。 (Wǒ měitiān zuò diànchē shàngbān.) I take the tram to work every day.
电车 is simply 电 (diàn, electricity) plus 车 (chē, vehicle): a vehicle that runs on electricity. The same 电 appears in 电话 (diànhuà) and 电视 (diànshì), so think of it as the electric member of that family.
Common mistake: Learners often say 开电车 when they mean riding one as a passenger. Use 坐电车 (zuò diànchē) for riding and 开 (kāi) only for driving. Also keep 电 in fourth tone and 车 in first tone: diànchē, not diǎnchē.
电车 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.
电 diàn · lightning · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
车 chē · car · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 电车.
| 电话 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 电影 | diànyǐng | movie; film |
| 开车 | kāichē | to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual jok |
| 电视 | diànshì | television; TV |
| 电脑 | diànnǎo | computer |
| 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 |
Questions about 电车
What does 电车 mean?
电车 (diànchē) means "tram; streetcar; trolleybus" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 电车?
电车 is made of 2 characters: 电 (5 strokes), 车 (4 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 电车 an HSK word?
Yes. 电车 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 电车 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 电车 is written 電車.
Is 电车 the normal word for an electric car like a Tesla?
People do say 电车 casually, but the standard term is 电动车 (diàndòngchē) or 电动汽车 (diàndòng qìchē). 电动车 can also mean an e-bike, so context matters.
How is 电车 different from 地铁 and 火车?
地铁 (dìtiě) is the subway and 火车 (huǒchē) is a regular long-distance train. 电车 usually runs on city streets, like a tram or trolleybus, except in Japanese contexts where it means commuter trains.