Trains & the Metro in Chinese 火车
huǒchē
Train / metro in Chinese are 火车 / 地铁 (huǒ chē / dì tiě).
Also searched for as: train, subway, metro, high speed rail.
Break down transport: on rails. 15 essential trains & the metro words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
火车 (huǒ chē), literally 'fire vehicle', means train, and these words cover both long-distance rail and city metro travel. China's 高铁 (gāo tiě), high-speed rail, links most major cities, so it's worth knowing words like 车厢 (chē xiāng), carriage, and 站台 (zhàn tái), platform, as well as 晚点 (wǎn diǎn), delayed, for when things don't go to plan.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 火车 | huǒ chē | train |
| 高铁 | gāo tiě | high-speed rail |
| 火车站 | huǒ chē zhàn | railway station |
| 站台 | zhàn tái | platform |
| 车厢 | chē xiāng | carriage |
| 车次 | chē cì | train number |
| 硬座 | yìng zuò | hard seat |
| 卧铺 | wò pù | sleeper berth |
| 检票 | jiǎn piào | to check tickets |
| 晚点 | wǎn diǎn | delayed |
| 出发 | chū fā | to depart |
| 到站 | dào zhàn | to arrive at the station |
| 地铁站 | dì tiě zhàn | metro station |
| 单程 | dān chéng | one-way |
| 往返 | wǎng fǎn | return |
Usage tips
- Every train has a 车次 (chē cì), train number, whose letter tells you the type: G and D trains are high-speed services, while K and T trains are slower conventional ones.
- 检票 (jiǎn piào) is when you go through the gate to the platform, which usually opens only shortly before departure, so you wait in the station hall until then.
- On overnight trains, 卧铺 (wò pù) comes as 硬卧 (yìng wò), hard sleeper, in open compartments, and 软卧 (ruǎn wò), soft sleeper, in four-berth compartments with a door.
Common mistakes
- Reading 晚点 (wǎn diǎn) as 'late in the evening'; for transport it means delayed, as in 火车晚点了 (huǒ chē wǎn diǎn le).
- Inventing a word like 回来票 for a return ticket; the term is 往返票 (wǎng fǎn piào), and a single is 单程票 (dān chéng piào).
Mini dialogue
- A我们坐的是哪个车次？Wǒ men zuò de shì nǎ ge chē cì?Which train are we on?
- B八点的高铁，在三号站台。Bā diǎn de gāo tiě, zài sān hào zhàn tái.The eight o'clock high-speed train, from platform three.
- A开始检票了吗？Kāi shǐ jiǎn piào le ma?Have they started checking tickets?
- B还没有，火车晚点了二十分钟。Hái méi yǒu, huǒ chē wǎn diǎn le èr shí fēn zhōng.Not yet, the train's been delayed by twenty minutes.
Example sentences
- 我们坐火车去上海。We're going to Shanghai by train.
- 坐高铁只要两个小时。It only takes two hours by high-speed rail.
- 我在火车站等你。I'll wait for you at the railway station.
- 火车在三号站台。The train is at platform three.
- 我们在五号车厢。We're in carriage five.
- 你买的是哪个车次？Which train number did you book?
- 硬座便宜，但是不太舒服。Hard seats are cheap but not very comfortable.
- 坐夜车最好买卧铺。On a night train it's best to get a sleeper berth.
- 开车前十五分钟开始检票。Ticket checks start fifteen minutes before departure.
- 火车晚点了一个小时。The train was delayed by an hour.
- 列车马上就要出发了。The train is about to depart.
- 快到站了，准备下车吧。We're almost at the station, get ready to get off.
- 最近的地铁站在哪儿？Where's the nearest metro station?
- 我要一张单程票。I'd like a one-way ticket.
- 往返票比较便宜。A return ticket is cheaper.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Trains & the metro speaking island has 8 everyday questions about trains & the metro to prepare your own answers to.