bā shì
bus
我坐巴士去上班。
wǒ zuò bāshì qù shàngbān.
I take the bus to work.
巴士站就在马路对面。
bāshì zhàn jiù zài mǎlù duìmiàn.
The bus stop is just across the street.
巴士票多少钱？
bāshì piào duōshǎo qián?
How much is the bus ticket?
汽车 (qìchē)
car
火车 (huǒchē)
train
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The Chinese word 巴士 (bāshì) for "bus" is derived from the English word "bus". The word "bus" is believed to have originated from the Latin word "omnibus", which means "for all". This word was first used in France in the 19th century to refer to a horse-drawn carriage that could carry multiple passengers. The word "bus" was later adopted into English and eventually spread to other languages, including Chinese. In Chinese, the word 巴士 (bāshì) is a combination of the characters 巴 (bā), which means "eight", and 士 (shì), which means "scholar" or "gentleman". The character 巴 (bā) is used to represent the sound of the English word "bus", while the character 士 (shì) is used to represent the meaning of "for all". Thus, the Chinese word 巴士 (bāshì) literally means "eight scholars", which is a reference to the fact that a bus can carry multiple passengers.
