huǒ chē
former
我坐火车去北京。
wǒ zuò huǒchē qù běijīng.
I take the train to Beijing.
火车站在哪里？
huǒchē zhàn zài nǎlǐ?
Where is the train station?
火车票多少钱？
huǒchē piào duōshǎo qián?
How much is the train ticket?
火车 (huǒchē)
train
列车 (lièchē)
train
铁路 (tiělù)
railway
汽车 (qìchē)
car
飞机 (fēijī)
airplane
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The Chinese word 火车 (huǒchē) for "train" is a compound of two characters: 火 (huǒ), meaning "fire", and 车 (chē), meaning "vehicle". The term "fire vehicle" was coined in the late 19th century to describe the new mode of transportation that was powered by steam engines. As steam locomotives were the primary form of rail transport at the time, the name stuck, and 火车 became the standard Chinese word for "train".It's worth noting that the term 火车 specifically refers to trains powered by steam engines. With the advent of diesel and electric locomotives, the Chinese language introduced new terms to differentiate between different types of trains. For example, 内燃机车 (nèiránjīchē) is used for diesel locomotives, and 电力机车 (diànlìjīchē) is used for electric locomotives. However, 火车 remains the general term for trains in Chinese, regardless of their power source.
