航天员

• Pinyin: háng tiān yuán
• Hanzi breakdown: 航天 = navigate the heavens; 员 = 口 (mouth/circle) + 贝 (shell/value) — a person with a defined role or membership

Meaning

Astronaut; taikonaut — a person trained and qualified to travel and work in outer space, specifically used for Chinese space programme personnel.

The official Chinese term for Chinese space travellers. In international reporting, 航天员 is often translated as 'taikonaut' to distinguish Chinese astronauts from others. 宇航员 is more commonly used for foreign astronauts in everyday speech. Becoming an 航天员 requires years of rigorous training across engineering, medicine, and geology.

Examples

1. 三名航天员在完成飞船与空间站的对接操作后，顺利进驻中国空间站，开始为期六个月的在轨驻留任务。 After completing the spacecraft’s docking with the space station, the three astronauts successfully entered the Chinese space station and began a six-month mission in orbit.
2. 成为一名合格的航天员不仅需要具备强健的体魄，更需要掌握工程、医学、地质等多个学科领域的专业知识。 Becoming a qualified astronaut requires not only a strong body but also professional knowledge in fields such as engineering, medicine, and geology.
3. 这位航天员在接受媒体采访时深情回忆了自己第一次太空出舱的经历，称那是他人生中最难忘的时刻之一。 In a media interview, the astronaut fondly recalled his first spacewalk, calling it one of the most unforgettable moments of his life.

Usage Guide

Context: space, science, government, media, education

Tone: formal

Do Say

• 执行此次任务的三名航天员经过严格筛选和长达两年的专项训练，均具备处理各类太空突发情况的能力。(The three astronauts executing this mission have undergone rigorous selection and two years of specialised training, and are all capable of handling various emergency situations in space.)
• 航天员返回地球后需要经历数周乃至数月的身体康复和重力适应训练，以逐步恢复在地面正常生活的能力。(After returning to Earth, astronauts need to undergo weeks to months of physical rehabilitation and gravity re-adaptation training to gradually restore their ability to live normally on the ground.)

Don't Say

• 航天员 for foreign astronauts in casual conversation — it is technically correct but slightly formal; 宇航员 is more natural in everyday speech for non-Chinese astronauts

Origin & History

航天 (space travel) + 员 (person, member, specialist) — a person who travels in outer space

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal