How to Say "Rocket" in Chinese

火箭

huǒjiàn

The Chinese word for rocket is 火箭 (huǒjiàn).

The term refers to a rocket as a vehicle.

Meaning: vehicle (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

Literally, 火箭 means 'fire arrow'.

huǒjiàn

China is widely credited with inventing the first rockets, which were essentially the 'fire arrows' 火箭 used for military purposes during the Song Dynasty.
In modern Chinese internet slang, the term 火箭 is sometimes used to describe a rapid, steep increase in price or value, similar to 'moonshot' in English.
While 火箭 is used for space vehicles, a firework rocket is often called 烟花火箭 (yānhuā huǒjiàn) or simply 烟花 (yānhuā) meaning 'smoke flower'.

火箭飞得极快。
The rocket travels at a tremendous speed.
This sentence demonstrates the speed of a 火箭.
Tatoeba #2031451 by ydcok, translation #29382 by Dejo
他們發射火箭。
They launched a rocket.
This sentence describes the action of launching a 火箭.
Tatoeba #13206710 by LeviHighway, translation #306126 by CK
火箭發射。
The rocket was launched.
This sentence describes the launch of a 火箭.
Tatoeba #13206701 by LeviHighway, translation #11058997 by Amastan
中国发射了一枚探测火箭。
China launched a probe rocket.
那位士兵正在使用火箭筒进行训练。
That soldier is training with a rocket launcher.
2 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are looking at a science museum exhibit.

佳怡 Jiayi

志强，你看那个巨大的火箭！
Zhìqiáng, nǐ kàn nàge jùdà de huǒjiàn!
Zhiqiang, look at that huge rocket!
志强 Zhiqiang

它看起来真的非常先进。
Tā kàn qǐlái zhēnde fēicháng xiānjìn.
It looks really advanced.
佳怡 Jiayi

火箭能把人送到月球上吗？
Huǒjiàn néng bǎ rén sòng dào yuèqiú shàng ma?
Can a rocket send people to the moon?
志强 Zhiqiang

是的，那是它的主要用途。
Shì de, nà shì tā de zhǔyào yòngtú.
Yes, that is its main purpose.

Sources

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