無人機 / 无人机
wúrénjī
The Chinese for drone is 無人機 / 无人机 (wúrénjī). If unsure, use 無人機 / 无人机. Wiktionary also lists 無人航空載具 / 无人航空载具 (wúrén hángkōng zàijù) and 無人飛機 / 无人飞机 (wúrén fēijī).
Meaning: unmanned aircraft (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 無人機 / 无人机 | wúrénjī |
| 無人航空載具 / 无人航空载具 | wúrén hángkōng zàijù |
| 無人飛機 / 无人飞机 | wúrén fēijī |
| 無人駕駛飛機 / 无人驾驶飞机 | wúrén jiàshǐ fēijī |
What does it mean word for word?
無人 means without people and 機 means machine or aircraft.
Which one should you use?
無人飛機 / 无人飞机, 無人駕駛飛機 / 无人驾驶飞机 and 無人航空載具 / 无人航空载具 are longer, more technical names. 無人機 / 无人机 is the short everyday word.
How do you pronounce it?
In pinyin it is wúrénjī.
Did you know?
- In some technical contexts, the word 機 / 机 (jī) can also refer to 'opportunity' or 'chance', meaning the word for drone shares a character with the concept of a lucky break.
- In Chinese social media, drones are sometimes jokingly called 會飛的相機 / 会飞的相机, which literally means 'cameras that can fly'.
- In Chinese gaming and internet slang, a 'drone' is sometimes referred to as a 小飛機 / 小飞机 (xiǎo fēijī), which translates to 'little airplane' regardless of its actual size.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “drone” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
