公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) — "public bus" in Chinese

HSK 2

公共
汽车

Public bus

noun

Character composition

公

public

共

together, common

汽

steam, gas

车

vehicle, car

Radicals / Keys

水

Water

#85 · shuǐ · 4 strokes

八

Eight

#12 · bā · 2 strokes

車

Cart

#159 · chē · 7 strokes

Synonyms

公交车

bus

gōngjiāochē · colloquial, everyday

客车

bus

kè chē · intercity coach, regional

Collocations

坐公共汽车

zuò gōnggòng qìchē

take a bus

等公共汽车

děng gōnggòng qìchē

wait for the bus

Examples

我们坐公共汽车去学校。

We go to school by bus.

我坐公共汽车

I take the bus.

Mnemonic

[gōnggòng qìchē-] Gong and Kitty hop on a 公共汽车 public bus that runs on steam 🚍💨. Together, they ride through the city, seeing 公 (public) parks and 共 (shared) spaces whiz by. Kitty, wearing a funny hat, exclaims that this bus is unique with its steam engine 汽 and whimsical wheels 车, creating music as it moves.

Writing

Frequently asked questions

How do you say "public bus" in Chinese?

"public bus" in Chinese is 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē).

What does 公共汽车 mean in English?

公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) means "Public bus".

How is 公共汽车 pronounced?

It is pronounced gōnggòng qìchē (written as gonggong qiche, gonggongqiche). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "public bus" in Chinese characters?

It is written 公共汽车: 公 has 4 strokes, 共 has 6 strokes, 汽 has 7 strokes, 车 has 4 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.