车 (chē) is a Chinese character meaning “vehicle”. It is written from ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇜ (left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe)) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “vehicle; car”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇐ + ㇜ + ㇐ + ㇑
Overlapping structure
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇜ left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe) unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
Structure from: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data medians (4 strokes); no reliable component IDS available for the simplified form
Memory aid
A short bar (㇐) sits on top like a roof rack; a turning stroke (㇜) sweeps down and out like a wheel spinning; a long bar (㇐) is the axle running the full width, and one vertical (㇑) skewers everything together — a cart held on one shaft.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 开车kāi chēto drive (a vehicle)车 = chē
- 车门chē ménvehicle door; car door车 = chē
- 列车liè chētrain车 = chē
- 刹车shā chēto brake; the brakes车 = chē
- 卡车kǎ chētruck; lorry车 = chē
- 吊车diào chēcrane (lifting machine); hoist车 = chē
- 坐车zuò chēto ride in a vehicle; to go by bus or car车 = chē
- 汽车qì chēcar; automobile车 = chē
- 火车huǒ chētrain车 = chē
- 车库chē kùgarage; car park车 = chē
- 车轮chē lúnwheel of a vehicle车 = chē
- 驱车qū chēto drive a vehicle车 = chē
- 停车tíng chēto park (a vehicle); to stop the car车 = chē
- 堵车dǔ chētraffic jam; to be stuck in traffic车 = chē
- 搭车dā chēto get a lift; to hitch a ride车 = chē
- 晕车yùn chēcarsick; to get carsick车 = chē
- 车厢chē xiāngrailway carriage; compartment of a vehicle车 = chē
- 车祸chē huòtraffic accident; car crash车 = chē
- 车站chē zhànstation (bus or train)车 = chē
- 车轴chē zhóuaxle (of a wheeled vehicle)车 = chē
- 车辆chē liàngvehicle; vehicles车 = chē
- 轿车jiào chēcar; sedan车 = chē
- 骑车qí chēto ride a bicycle车 = chē
Go deeper
All readings
vehicle
vehicle; car; any wheeled machine
陆地上有轮子的交通工具；也指有轮子的机器。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 开车kāi chēto drive (a vehicle)车 = chē
- 车门chē ménvehicle door; car door车 = chē
- 列车liè chētrain车 = chē
- 刹车shā chēto brake; the brakes车 = chē
- 卡车kǎ chētruck; lorry车 = chē
- 吊车diào chēcrane (lifting machine); hoist车 = chē
- 坐车zuò chēto ride in a vehicle; to go by bus or car车 = chē
- 汽车qì chēcar; automobile车 = chē
- 火车huǒ chētrain车 = chē
- 车库chē kùgarage; car park车 = chē
- 车轮chē lúnwheel of a vehicle车 = chē
- 驱车qū chēto drive a vehicle车 = chē
- 停车tíng chēto park (a vehicle); to stop the car车 = chē
- 堵车dǔ chētraffic jam; to be stuck in traffic车 = chē
- 搭车dā chēto get a lift; to hitch a ride车 = chē
- 晕车yùn chēcarsick; to get carsick车 = chē
- 车厢chē xiāngrailway carriage; compartment of a vehicle车 = chē
- 车祸chē huòtraffic accident; car crash车 = chē
- 车站chē zhànstation (bus or train)车 = chē
- 车轴chē zhóuaxle (of a wheeled vehicle)车 = chē
- 车辆chē liàngvehicle; vehicles车 = chē
- 轿车jiào chēcar; sedan车 = chē
- 骑车qí chēto ride a bicycle车 = chē
Rare readings, not taught: jū
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 车 mean?
车 (chē) means vehicle; car; any wheeled machine.
How do you pronounce 车?
It is pronounced chē.
What parts is 车 made of?
㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇜ (left-falling stroke turning upward (pie-zhe)) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke). The recorded source is: stroke-level decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data medians (4 strokes); no reliable component IDS available for the simplified form. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 车 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 车?
车. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 车?
Common ones are 开车 and 车门. The reading of 车 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.