下车

• Pinyin: xià chē
• Hanzi breakdown: 下 = below/down; 车 = simplified from 車, pictograph of a chariot viewed from above

Meaning

To get off (a vehicle); to alight. The act of exiting a bus, car, train, or other vehicle.

The opposite of 上车 (get on a vehicle). Used for all wheeled vehicles: buses, taxis, cars, trains, and subways. An essential travel vocabulary word. Often used with 在 to specify where one gets off.

Examples

1. 我们到了，请下车吧。 We've arrived — please get off.
2. 你在哪一站下车？ Which stop do you get off at?
3. 下车以后往前走。 Walk forward after getting off.

Usage Guide

Context: travel, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我在下一站下车。(I'm getting off at the next stop.)
• 请在这里下车。(Please get off here.)

Don't Say

• 我想下车公共汽车。(Wrong structure — 下车 is already a complete verb-object phrase; don't add the vehicle after it)

Origin & History

A compound of 下 (down/off) and 车 (vehicle). Literally means 'go down from a vehicle,' the counterpart to 上车 (get on a vehicle).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal