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HSK 4

交通

traffic; transportation

nounneutral
交
jiāo1st tone
通
tōng1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
jiāotōng
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
16
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 交通

交通 is written with 16 strokes (交: 6, 通: 10). The animation replays automatically.

What does 交通 mean?

交通 (jiāotōng) is a noun covering both 'traffic' (the flow of vehicles on roads) and 'transportation' (the system of getting around — roads, transit, links).

Literally 'cross-through,' it names the movement and infrastructure that connect places. English splits these into two words; Chinese uses 交通 for both, so context decides: 交通很堵 means 'traffic is jammed,' while 交通方便 means 'transportation is convenient.' Note it does not mean an individual vehicle — a car is 车 (chē), and 'means of transport' is 交通工具 (jiāotōng gōngjù).

It also forms fixed compounds worth knowing: 交通事故 ('traffic accident'), 交通规则 ('traffic rules'), 公共交通 ('public transportation'). Unlike English 'transportation,' 交通 is not used as a verb — you don't 交通 goods; that's 运输 (yùnshū).

Character by character

交jiāoto cross; to intersect
+
通tōngto go through; to connect
=
交通

Memory hook: Roads that 'cross and connect' (交 cross + 通 connect) are what carry traffic and transport.

Example sentences

这里交通很方便，有地铁也有公交车。

Zhèlǐ jiāotōng hěn fāngbiàn, yǒu dìtiě yě yǒu gōngjiāochē.

Transportation here is convenient — there's a subway and buses.

spoken

早上的交通特别堵。

Zǎoshang de jiāotōng tèbié dǔ.

The traffic in the morning is really jammed.

spoken

开车要遵守交通规则。

Kāichē yào zūnshǒu jiāotōng guīzé.

When driving you must follow the traffic rules.

neutral

昨天这条路上发生了交通事故。

Zuótiān zhè tiáo lù shàng fāshēng le jiāotōng shìgù.

A traffic accident happened on this road yesterday.

written

Common phrases with 交通

交通事故jiāotōng shìgùtraffic accident
公共交通gōnggòng jiāotōngpublic transportation
交通方便jiāotōng fāngbiànconvenient transportation
交通工具jiāotōng gōngjùmeans of transport
交通规则jiāotōng guīzétraffic rules

Synonyms

运输yùnshū

运输 is 'transport / shipping' as an action — moving goods or people from A to B (货物运输 'freight transport'). 交通 is the traffic and system as a whole, and is not used as a verb.

Don't confuse 交通 with

沟通gōutōng

沟通 (gōutōng) means 'to communicate.' It shares the 通 character but has nothing to do with roads. 交通 = traffic; 沟通 = communication.

交流jiāoliú

交流 shares 交 and means 'to exchange (ideas).' 交通 is about vehicles and roads. Beginners sometimes swap them because both start with 交.

FAQ

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