火車

See also: 火车

Chinese

		fire; angry; fierce fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving	vehicle on land; car; machine vehicle on land; car; machine; to shape with a lathe
trad. (火車)		火	車
simp. (火车)		火	车
Literally: “fire vehicle”.

火車/火车

Etymology

“train”

First attested in 美理哥合省國志略 [1838] by Elijah Coleman Bridgman, perhaps modelled on already-existing 火船, or shortened from 火烝車／火烝车, attested in the same work. It is likely not a shortening of 火輪車／火轮车 (huǒlúnchē), which was attested later than 火車／火车.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): huǒchē

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄔㄜ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ho³ ce¹

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): хуәчә (huəčə, II-I)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): fo² ce¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): fo² cie¹

• Gan (Wiktionary): 'fo³ ca¹
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): fó-chhâ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): fo³ ca¹

• Jin (Wiktionary): hue² ce¹
• Northern Min (KCR): hǒ-chiá
• Eastern Min (BUC): huōi-chiă
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hé-chhia / hér-chhia / hóe-chhia

  (Teochew, Peng'im): huê² cia¹

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁵hu-tsho
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): ho³ che¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: huǒchē
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄔㄜ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: huǒche
    • Wade–Giles: huo³-chʻê¹
    • Yale: hwǒ-chē
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: huooche
    • Palladius: хочэ (xočɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: huǒchēr
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄔㄜㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: huǒcher
    • Wade–Giles: huo³-chʻê¹-ʼrh
    • Yale: hwǒ-chēr
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: huooche'l
    • Palladius: хочэр (xočɛr)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤɻ⁵⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ho³ ce¹
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: xoce
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo⁵³ t͡sʰɛ⁵⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: хуәчә (huəčə, II-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xuə⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰə²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fo² ce¹
    • Yale: fó chē
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fo² tse¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fo² cé¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɔː³⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: fo² cie¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fᵘɔ⁵⁵ t͡sʰiɛ³³/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: 'fo³ ca¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˈfo²¹³⁻¹³ t͡sʰa⁴²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fó-chhâ
    • Hakka Romanization System: fo` ca´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: fo³ ca¹
    • Sinological IPA: /fo³¹ t͡sʰa²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: fo³ ca¹
    • Sinological IPA: /fo³¹ t͡sʰa⁴⁴/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: hue² ce¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /xuɤ⁵³ t͡sʰɤ¹¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: hǒ-chiá
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xo²¹ t͡sʰia⁵⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: huōi-chiă
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hui³³⁻²¹ ^(t͡sʰ-)ʒia⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Magong, Hsinchu, Jinjiang, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hé-chhia
    • Tâi-lô: hé-tshia
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hefchiaf
    • IPA (Jinjiang, Philippines): /he⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sʰia³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /he⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Lukang, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hér-chhia
    • Tâi-lô: hér-tshia
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hə⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sʰia³³/
    • IPA (Lukang): /hə⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sʰia³³/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /hə⁵³⁻²⁴ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Yilan, Taichung, Penang, Medan, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hóe-chhia
    • Tâi-lô: hué-tshia
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoefchiaf
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hue⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Penang): /hue⁴⁴⁵⁻³³ t͡sʰia³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hue⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Singapore): /hue⁴²⁻²⁴ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Tainan, Yilan): /hue⁵³⁻⁵⁵ t͡sʰia⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: huê² cia¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hué tshia
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hue⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡sʰia³³/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁵hu-tsho
    • MiniDict: hu^去 tsho
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²hu-tsho
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /hu³³ t͡sʰo⁴⁴/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: ho³ che¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /xo⁴¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ̞³³/
    • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /xo⁴¹ t͡sʰɤ̞³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: xwaX tsyhae

Rime
Character	火	車
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Initial (聲)	曉 (32)	昌 (24)
Final (韻)	戈 (95)	麻 (100)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	呼果切	尺遮切
Baxter	xwaX	tsyhae
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/huɑX/	/t͡ɕʰia/
Pan Wuyun	/huɑX/	/t͡ɕʰia/
Shao Rongfen	/xuɑX/	/t͡ɕʰia/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/hwaX/	/cʰia/
Li Rong	/xuɑX/	/t͡ɕʰia/
Wang Li	/xuɑX/	/t͡ɕʰĭa/
Bernard Karlgren	/xuɑX/	/t͡ɕʰi̯a/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	huǒ	chē
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fo2	ce1

Noun

火車

1. train (Classifier: 列 m; 架 c; 節／节 m; 班 m c; 趟 m)

   城際火車／城际火车  ―  chéngjì huǒchē  ―  intercity train

   他差點沒趕上火車。 [MSC, trad.]
   他差点没赶上火车。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā chàdiǎn méi gǎnshàng huǒchē. [Pinyin]

   He nearly missed the train.

   我坐火車去上海。 [MSC, trad.]
   我坐火车去上海。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ zuò huǒchē qù Shànghǎi. [Pinyin]

   I am going to Shanghai by train.

   火車三點開，你現在去還來得及。 [MSC, trad.]
   火车三点开，你现在去还来得及。 [MSC, simp.]

   Huǒchē sān diǎn kāi, nǐ xiànzài qù hái láidejí. [Pinyin]

   The train leaves at three. You can still make it if you go now.

2. (historical) combat chariot carrying equipment for attack by fire
3. (Buddhism) fiery chariot that sends a sinner to hell

Usage notes

• 火車／火车 refers to the train itself and to the mode of transportation, so it is used in terms related to the railway. 列車／列车 (lièchē) is sometimes used instead to follow technology development as trains are not steam powered anymore, but the term only refers to the train itself and cannot replace 火車／火车 in the previous term.
• Sometimes high-speed trains (高鐵／高铁 (gāotiě)) are excluded when referring 火車／火车 only.

Synonyms

• (train):

Dialectal synonyms of 火車 (“train”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		火車
Mandarin	Beijing	火車
	Taiwan	火車
	Tianjin	火車
	Chengde	火車
	Tangshan	火車
	Cangzhou	火車
	Xianxian (Xiaoying)	火車
	Baoding	火車
	Shijiazhuang	火車
	Chifeng	火車
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	火車
	Heihe	火車
	Qiqihar	火車
	Harbin	火車
	Jiamusi	火車
	Baicheng	火車
	Changchun	火車
	Tonghua	火車
	Shenyang	火車
	Dandong	火車
	Jinzhou	火車
	Dalian	火車
	Yantai	火車
	Yantai (Muping)	火車
	Qingdao	火車
	Lijin	火車
	Zhucheng	火車
	Jinan	火車
	Jining	火車
	Luoyang	火車
	Wanrong	火車
	Shangqiu	火車
	Yuanyang	火車
	Zhengzhou	火車
	Lingbao	火車
	Xinyang	火車
	Baihe	火車
	Hanzhong	火車
	Xi'an	火車
	Dingbian	火車
	Baoji	火車
	Yinchuan	火車
	Tianshui	火車
	Lanzhou	火車
	Dunhuang	火車
	Xining	火車
	Hami	火車
	Ürümqi	火車
	Wuhan	火車
	Yichang	火車
	Xiangyang	火車
	Tianmen	火車
	Hong'an	火車
	Chengdu	火車
	Nanchong	火車
	Dazhou	火車
	Hanyuan	火車
	Xichang	火車
	Zigong	火車
	Chongqing	火車
	Guiyang	火車
	Zunyi	火車
	Bijie	火車
	Liping	火車
Zhaotong	火車
Dali	火車
Kunming	火車
Mengzi	火車
Guilin	火車
Pingle	火車
Liuzhou	火車
Luzhai	火車
Nanning (Fujian)	火車
Nanning (Wuming)	火車
Binyang (Nanjie)	火車
Luocheng (Dongmen)	火車
Tianlin (Langping)	火車
Jishou	火車
Changde	火車
Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine)	火車
Xuzhou	火車
Fuyang	火車
Wuhu	火車
Yangzhou	火車
Lianyungang	火車
Lianshui	火車
Nanjing	火車兒
Hefei	火車
Nantong	火車
Singapore	火車
Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	火車
Cantonese	Guangzhou	火車
	Hong Kong	火車
	Taishan (Guanghai)	火車
	Dongguan	火車
	Yangjiang	火車
	Qinzhou	火車
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	火車
	Beihai	火車
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	火車
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	火車
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	火車
	Singapore (Guangfu)	火車
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	火車
	Móng Cái	火車
	Mandalay (Taishan)	火車
Gan	Nanchang	火車
	Lichuan	火車
	Pingxiang	火車
Hakka	Meixian	火車
	Yudu	火車
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	火車
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	火車
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	火車
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	火車
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	火車
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	火車
Huizhou	Jixi	火車
	Shexian	火車
Jin	Taiyuan	火車
	Yangyuan	火車
	Datong	火車
	Xinzhou	火車
	Lishi	火車
	Linfen	火車
	Changzhi	火車
	Linhe	火車
	Jining	火車
	Hohhot	火車
	Erenhot	火車
	Pingshan	火車
	Zhangjiakou	火車
	Handan	火車
	Linzhou	火車
	Suide	火車
Jiuxing Yumin	Lanxi	火車
Northern Min	Jian'ou	火車
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	火車
Southern Min	Xiamen	火車
	Taipei	火車
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	火車
	Kaohsiung	火車
	Yilan	火車
	Changhua (Lukang)	火車
	Taichung	火車
	Tainan	火車
	Hsinchu	火車
	Kinmen	火車
	Penghu (Magong)	火車
	Penang (Hokkien)	火車
	Singapore (Hokkien)	火車
	Manila (Hokkien)	火車
	Chaozhou	火車
	Haikou	火車
Puxian Min	Xianyou	火車
Central Min	Yanping (Wangtai)	火車
Southern Pinghua	Binyang	火車
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dongbianzhou)	火車
Wu	Shanghai	火車
	Shanghai (Chongming)	火車
	Suzhou	火車
	Hangzhou	火車
	Wenzhou	火車
	Jinhua	火車
Xiang	Changsha	火車
	Loudi	火車
	Shuangfeng	火車
	Hengshan (Baiguo)	火車
	Qinglong (Changliu Laba Miao)	火車

Hypernyms

• (train): 交通工具 (jiāotōng gōngjù)

Derived terms

• 子彈火車／子弹火车 (zǐdàn huǒchē, “bullet train”)
• 氣墊火車／气垫火车
• 火車墿／火车𰉣
• 火車票／火车票 (huǒchēpiào, “train ticket”)
• 火車站／火车站 (huǒchēzhàn, “train station”)
• 火車蟲／火车虫
• 火車路／火车路 (huǒchēlù)
• 火車頭／火车头 (huǒchētóu, “locomotive”)
• 火車頭工業／火车头工业
• 磁浮火車／磁浮火车
• 開火車／开火车 (kāi huǒchē)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (火車):

• → Japanese: 火(か)車(しゃ) (kasha)
• → Korean: 화차(火車) (hwacha, “hwacha”)
• → Vietnamese: hỏa xa (火車)

Others:

• → Bouyei: hojcey
• → Malay: kereta api (calque)
  • Indonesian: kereta api
• → Mongolian: галт тэрэг (galt tereg) (calque)
• → Thai: รถไฟ (rót-fai) (calque)
• → Tibetan: མེ་འཁོར (me 'khor) (calque)
• → Zhuang: hojceh, → cifeiz (calque)
• → Vietnamese: xe lửa (calque)

See also

• 地鐵／地铁 (dìtiě)
• 動車／动车 (dòngchē)
• 高鐵／高铁 (gāotiě)
• 列車／列车 (lièchē)
• 鐵路／铁路 (tiělù)

Proper noun

火車

1. (Hong Kong, colloquial, somewhat dated) East Rail line

Further reading

• (Min Nan pronunciation audio) “Entry #1252”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
火	車
か Grade: 1	しゃ Grade: 1
on’yomi

Alternative forms

• (yōkai): 化車

Etymology

/kua t͡ɕia/ → /kʷaɕʲa/ → /kaɕa/

From Middle Chinese compound 火車 (MC xwaX tsyhae).

The "steam locomotive" sense is a semantic loan from modern Chinese 火車／火车 (huǒchē).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠ɕa̠]

Noun

火(か)車(しゃ) • (kasha) ^{←くわしや (kwasya)?}

1. (Buddhism) a fiery chariot that brings sinners to hell; by extension, a form of torture using this vehicle

   Synonym: 火の車 (hi no kuruma)

2. a burning fire in the shape of a wheel
3. Short for 火車婆 (kasha-baba): a powerful, evil old hag
4. (folklore) a yōkai that steals the corpses of those who have died as a result of accumulating evil deeds
5. a steam locomotive; by extension, a train

   Synonym: 汽車 (kisha)

   • 1994 February 4, “Pekin chippu shidai? [Does one tip in Beijing?]”, in Mainichi Shimbun, page 7:

     日(に)本(ほん)の二(に)十(じゅう)六(ろく)倍(ばい)の面(めん)積(せき)がある中(ちゅう)国(ごく)だけに、火(か)車(しゃ)（汽(き)車(しゃ)）の旅(たび)は長(なが)い、長(なが)い。わが支(し)局(きょく)の中(ちゅう)国(ごく)人(じん)女(じょ)性(せい)スタッフの場(ば)合(あい)、故(ふる)郷(さと)の蘭(ラン)州(シュウ)まで三(さん)十(じゅう)二(に)時(じ)間(かん)かかる。

     Nihon no nijūrokubai no menseki ga aru Chūgoku dake ni, kasha (kisha) no tabi wa nagai, nagai. Waga shikyoku no Chūgoku-jin josei sutaffu no bāi, furusato no Ranshū made sanjūni jikan kakaru.

     Only in China, which is 26 times the size of Japan, does one experience such long, long travel by locomotive (steam train). For example one Chinese staffer in our office takes 32 hours to reach her hometown in Lanzhou.

6. Alternative spelling of 花車 (kasha): a woman who manages and supervises prostitutes

Derived terms

• 火(か)車(しゃ)婆(ばば) (kasha-baba)

Korean

Hanja in this term
火	車

Noun

火車 • (hwacha) (hangeul 화차)

1. Hanja form^? of 화차 (“hwacha”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
火	車

Noun

火車

1. chữ Hán form of hỏa xa (“train”).