缆车
lǎnchē
The English phrase cable car is translated into Mandarin as 缆车 (lǎnchē).
缆车 refers to a passenger vehicle attached to a moving cable. If you want to express the action of riding a cable car, use the verb 坐 (zuò), which literally means 'to sit' or 'to ride'.
Meaning: passenger vehicle attached to a moving cable (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 缆车 is composed of 缆 (lǎn), meaning cable or rope and 车 (chē), meaning vehicle.
Which one should you use?
The term 索道 (suǒdào) is often used interchangeably with 缆车 to refer to the entire cableway system or the transport mechanism itself. For an aerial cable car, use the formal term 空中缆车.
How do you pronounce it?
lǎnchē
Did you know?
- The character 车 (chē) in 缆车 originates from a pictograph of an ancient two-wheeled chariot. This ancient image remains the foundation for modern words describing everything from bicycles to massive industrial cable systems.
- If you are looking for the ride at a tourist attraction, look for the sign for 索道 (suǒdào) rather than 缆车 (lǎnchē). While the latter describes the car, the former describes the entire system and is the term most commonly used on official park signage.
- While 缆车 refers to cable cars, the word for 'rope' in Mandarin differs wildly based on thickness. A thin string is 线, but the heavy-duty cable of a gondola must be 缆.
Examples in context
- 缆车站在哪里？Cable car station, where is it?
- 我想坐缆车。I want to take the cable car.
- 悬挂缆车提供了令人叹为观止的风景。The suspended cable car provides breathtaking scenery.
- 我们要坐缆车上去吗？Wǒmen yào zuò lǎnchē shàngqù ma?Are we going to take the cable car up?
- 那里的缆车非常有名。Nàlǐ de lǎnchē fēicháng yǒumíng.The cable car there is very famous.
- 缆车里的风景很美。Lǎnchē lǐ de fēngjǐng hěn měi.The view from the cable car is beautiful.
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding how to reach the mountain peak.
- 伟 Wei我们爬山还是坐缆车？Wǒmen páshān háishì zuò lǎnchē?Should we hike up or take the cable car?
- 雨婷 Yuting我觉得坐缆车比较轻松。Wǒ juéde zuò lǎnchē bǐjiào qīngsōng.I think taking the cable car is more relaxing.
- 伟 Wei好，那我们就坐缆车吧。Hǎo, nà wǒmen jiù zuò lǎnchē ba.Okay, let's take the cable car then.
- 雨婷 Yuting伟，你看，缆车快到了。Wěi, nǐ kàn, lǎnchē kuài dào le.Wei, look, the cable car is almost here.
