集装箱

• Pinyin: jí zhuāng xiāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 集 = gather; 装 = 衣 + 壮 (clothing + strong — to load/pack); 箱 = 竹 + 相 (bamboo + mutually — box)

Meaning

Container (shipping). A standardised large metal box used for transporting goods by sea, rail, or road.

Central to modern global trade and logistics. Used both literally and in extended metaphors about modular systems or information packaging.

Examples

1. 港口堆放着数以千计的集装箱，等待装船出口。 The port is stacked with thousands of shipping containers, waiting to be loaded onto ships for export.
2. 集装箱运输大幅降低了国际贸易的物流成本。 Container shipping has greatly reduced the logistics costs of international trade.
3. 这批货物将通过集装箱运往欧洲各地。 This shipment will be sent in containers to destinations across Europe.

Usage Guide

Context: logistics, trade, shipping

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 受全球供应链紧张影响，集装箱短缺问题在过去两年间持续困扰着出口型制造企业，部分工厂因此被迫推迟发货计划。(Due to tightening global supply chains, the shortage of shipping containers has continued to plague export-oriented manufacturers over the past two years, with some factories forced to postpone their shipping schedules as a result.)
• 该港口已完成智能化集装箱堆场改造，通过自动轨道吊和无人集卡的协同运作，装卸效率提升了近四十个百分点。(The port has completed the intelligent transformation of its container yard, achieving a nearly forty-percentage-point improvement in loading and unloading efficiency through the coordinated operation of automated rail-mounted cranes and driverless container trucks.)

Don't Say

• 货柜 is the common term in Taiwan and Hong Kong; on the mainland, 集装箱 is standard in formal and commercial contexts

Origin & History

集装 (to pack/consolidate cargo) + 箱 (box/container)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal