辆

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 辆 (liàng) is composed of two parts: 车 (chē), meaning "vehicle", and 两 (liǎng), meaning "two". This suggests that the original meaning of 辆 was "a vehicle with two wheels". Over time, the meaning of 辆 expanded to include any type of vehicle, regardless of the number of wheels.The character 辆 is first attested in the oracle bone script, which dates back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In the oracle bone script, 辆 is depicted as a simple drawing of a two-wheeled vehicle. The character 辆 is also found in the bronze script, which dates back to the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-771 BC). In the bronze script, 辆 is depicted as a more elaborate drawing of a two-wheeled vehicle, with the addition of a driver and a passenger.The character 辆 is used in a variety of words related to vehicles, such as 汽车 (qìchē), meaning "car", and 自行车 (zìxíngchē), meaning "bicycle". 辆 is also used in the phrase 一辆车 (yī liàng chē), meaning "one vehicle".