后备箱

• Pinyin: hòu bèi xiāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 后 — rear; 备 — reserve/prepared; 箱 = 竹 (bamboo radical) + 相 (phonetic) — a box or compartment

Meaning

Car boot; trunk. The storage compartment at the rear of an automobile.

The standard term in Mainland Chinese for the boot/trunk of a car. Used in everyday conversation, logistics, and automotive contexts. Equivalent to 车尾箱 in some regional variants. A simple, practical term with no figurative extensions in standard usage.

Examples

1. 搬家当天，他们把所有行李和杂物都塞进后备箱，还是装不下，最后不得不租了一辆货车。 On moving day, they stuffed all their luggage and odds and ends into the trunk, but it still wouldn’t fit, so in the end they had to rent a truck.
2. 超市购物结束后，她把满满几袋食品整齐地码放在后备箱里，然后驱车回家。 After finishing her grocery run, she neatly stacked several full bags of food in the trunk and then drove home.
3. 他把备用轮胎和工具包放在后备箱的最里面，方便遇到紧急情况时随时取用。 He put the spare tire and tool kit all the way in the back of the trunk so he could grab them quickly in an emergency.

Usage Guide

Context: driving, transport, everyday life

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 出发前请检查后备箱是否锁好，尤其是里面存放了贵重物品时，切勿粗心大意。(Before setting off, please check that the boot is properly locked — especially when you have valuables stored inside; do not be careless.)
• 他把折叠好的婴儿车放入后备箱，再把其他行李摆放整齐之后，一家人终于踏上了出发的旅途。(He folded the pushchair and placed it in the boot, then arranged the other luggage neatly, and the family finally set off on their journey.)

Don't Say

• 后备箱 to refer to any other kind of storage box or locker — it is specifically the trunk/boot of a car; use 储物柜 or 行李箱 for lockers or suitcases

Origin & History

后 (rear) + 备 (prepare; reserve) + 箱 (box; compartment) — a reserved box at the rear of a vehicle

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal