航班

• Pinyin: háng bān
• Hanzi breakdown: 航 = 舟 (boat) + 亢 (high, phonetic) — to navigate; 班 = 王 (jade) + 刂 (knife) — dividing into groups, meaning a scheduled shift

Meaning

Scheduled flight; flight number. A regularly scheduled airline service between two locations.

Used to refer to a specific flight on an airline schedule. Common collocations include 国际航班 (international flight), 航班号 (flight number), 航班延误 (flight delay), and 航班取消 (flight cancellation). Essential vocabulary for air travel. Can also refer to scheduled boat services in some contexts.

Examples

1. 我预订了明天早上八点的航班。 I booked the eight o'clock flight tomorrow morning.
2. 由于天气原因，今天有很多航班延误了。 Due to weather, many flights were delayed today.
3. 请问去上海的航班几点起飞？ Excuse me, what time does the flight to Shanghai depart?

Usage Guide

Context: travel, airport, transportation

Tone: informative

Do Say

• 你的航班是几点的？(What time is your flight?)
• 这个航班经常晚点。(This flight is often delayed.)

Don't Say

• 我坐了一个航班去北京 (Don't use 一个航班 as a verb phrase for travelling — say 坐飞机去北京 or 坐XX航班去北京 with a specific flight)

Origin & History

航 (háng, to navigate/sail) + 班 (bān, scheduled class/shift) — a scheduled navigation service, referring to regular flight departures.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal