自行车
zìxíngchē
The Chinese word for bike is 自行车 (zìxíngchē).
自行车 refers to a bicycle. If you want to specify that you are talking about an electric bike, you can use the term 电动自行车, which adds the component for electric drive.
Meaning: bicycle (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 自行车 is composed of 自 (self), 行 (move/go) and 车 (vehicle), meaning a "self-moving vehicle."
Which one should you use?
While 自行车 is the standard term, 单车 is a very common colloquial way to say bike, particularly in Southern China and Hong Kong.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwanese Mandarin, the term for bike is 脚踏车.
How does it change in a sentence?
When counting bikes, use the specific measure word 辆 (liàng) instead of the general measure word 个 (gè).
How do you pronounce it?
zìxíngchē
Did you know?
- If you call a bicycle a 摩托车 (mótuōchē), people will assume you are talking about a motorized motorbike rather than a pedal bike.
- If you use the measure word 个 (gè) for a bike instead of the correct 辆 (liàng), you will be understood, but it sounds much like saying 'one piece of bike' in English.
- The term 单车 (dānchē) can be seen as a linguistic marker that identifies a speaker as being from the South rather than the North of China.
Examples in context
- 这是我自己的自行车。This is my own bike.This sentence demonstrates the use of 自行车 to indicate ownership.Tatoeba #951324 by GlossaMatik, translation #951325 by CM
- 阿尔及尔有自行车道吗？Are there any bike lanes in Algiers?This sentence uses 自行车 to ask about bike lanes.Tatoeba #8558448 by slo_oth, translation #8558113 by Amastan
- 我买了一辆电动自行车。I've bought an electric bike.This sentence shows how to specify an electric bike using the term containing 自行车.Tatoeba #8589630 by tianblr, translation #5967734 by JanoInstruisto
- 我骑自行车去上班。I ride a bike to work.
- 我们一起骑单车去公园吧！Let's ride bikes together to the park!
- 35 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a park, Yuting sees Zhiqiang arriving on a bike.
- 雨婷 Yuting你的自行车很漂亮。Nǐ de zìxíngchē hěn piàoliang.Your bike is very beautiful.
- 志强 Zhiqiang谢谢，这是我新买的。Xièxiè, zhè shì wǒ xīn mǎi de.Thanks, I just bought it.
- 雨婷 Yuting它骑起来方便吗？Tā qí qǐlái fāngbiàn ma?Is it easy to ride?
- 志强 Zhiqiang非常方便，我也喜欢骑车。Fēicháng fāngbiàn, wǒ yě xǐhuān qí chē.Very easy, I also like riding bikes.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
