出租车
taxi
chūzūchē
What does 出租车 mean?
出租车 (chūzūchē) is the standard Mandarin word for a taxi — literally 'rent-out vehicle.' It's the term you'll see on signs, in textbooks, and in Mainland news. In daily Beijing speech, locals more often say 打车 (dǎ chē, 'grab a cab') for the action and 的士 (dīshì, from Cantonese/English) for the vehicle.
In Taiwan, the same thing is usually called 計程車 (jìchéngchē, 'metered car'). Two things to know: first, since Didi (滴滴) took over in the mid-2010s, most people in China hail rides through an app and may say 网约车 (wǎngyuēchē, 'online-booked car') for ride-share, reserving 出租车 for traditional metered cabs; second, 出租车 is three syllables — learners often shorten it to 出租 in casual speech, but the full word is standard in writing.
Character breakdown
to go out; out
to rent; rent
vehicle; car
Memory hook: 出 + 租 + 车 = 'out-rent-car,' a car you rent and ride out in — a taxi.
Measure word for 出租车
Example sentences
我们坐出租车去机场。
Wǒmen zuò chūzūchē qù jīchǎng.
We're taking a taxi to the airport.
neutral
请帮我叫一辆出租车。
Qǐng bāng wǒ jiào yī liàng chūzūchē.
Please help me call a taxi.
polite
出租车在哪儿?
Chūzūchē zài nǎr?
Where's the taxi?
spoken
出租车司机很好。
Chūzūchē sījī hěn hǎo.
The taxi driver is very nice.
neutral
Common phrases with 出租车
Synonyms
Borrowed from the English 'taxi' through Cantonese. Common in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and increasingly in casual Mainland speech. 出租车 is more standard/written; 的士 is colloquial.
打车 is the VERB 'to catch a cab,' not the vehicle. 'I'm catching a taxi' = 我打车; 'a taxi is over there' = 出租车在那儿.