车車 chē, jū — a wheeled vehicle: cart, car, bicycle, train; a machine turning on a wheel; (jū) the chariot in Chinese chess
chē (first tone, high and level) jū (first tone, high and level)
2 readings — the first is the most common.
Traditional: 車
a wheeled vehicle: cart, car, bicycle, train; a machine turning on a wheel; (jū) the chariot in Chinese chess
4 strokesRadical 車Frequency #241
Pinyin
- chē (first tone, high and level)most common
- jū (first tone, high and level)
a wheeled vehicle: cart, car, bicycle, train; a machine turning on a wheel; (jū) the chariot in Chinese chess
Character breakdown
Mnemonic
The traditional 車 is a chariot seen from above: the box of the carriage in the middle, the axle running straight through it, and a wheel at either end. The simplified 车 keeps the axle and one wheel, in four strokes. It is the vehicle in 汽车, 火车, 自行车 and 车站 — and read jū it is the chariot that runs in straight lines across a Chinese chessboard.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.