地铁
subway; metro
dìtiě
What does 地铁 mean?
地铁 (dìtiě) means the subway / metro — the underground urban rail system of Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The two characters literally read 'underground iron (rail),' parallel to French métro or Russian metro. Use it for the system, the train, and the line — 坐地铁 (zuò dìtiě) 'take the subway,' 地铁站 (dìtiě zhàn) 'subway station,' 地铁线 (dìtiě xiàn) 'subway line.'
In mainland China the word 地铁 dominates; some Hong Kong / Taiwan speakers use 捷运 (jiéyùn, MTR / MRT) instead. For above-ground or commuter rail, the term is 轻轨 (qīngguǐ, light rail) or 高铁 (gāotiě, high-speed rail). To say 'by subway' as a means of transport, use 坐地铁 or 乘地铁 — never just 用地铁.
Character breakdown
earth; ground; underground
iron; iron rail (short for 铁路 railway)
Memory hook: 地 (underground) + 铁 (iron rail) = underground iron rail = subway.
Measure word for 地铁
Example sentences
我每天坐地铁上班。
Wǒ měi tiān zuò dìtiě shàngbān.
I take the subway to work every day.
spoken
地铁站离我家很近。
Dìtiě zhàn lí wǒ jiā hěn jìn.
The subway station is very close to my home.
neutral
请问，最近的地铁口在哪儿？
Qǐng wèn, zuì jìn de dìtiě kǒu zài nǎr?
Excuse me, where is the nearest subway exit?
spoken, polite
北京的地铁很方便也很便宜。
Běijīng de dìtiě hěn fāngbiàn yě hěn piányi.
Beijing's subway is very convenient and very cheap.
neutral
我们在下一站换地铁吧。
Wǒmen zài xià yí zhàn huàn dìtiě ba.
Let's transfer subways at the next stop.
spoken
Common phrases with 地铁
Synonyms
Don't confuse 地铁 with
高铁 is high-speed inter-city rail (like the bullet train between Beijing and Shanghai). 地铁 is the urban subway within one city. Different systems entirely.
火车 is a long-distance train. 地铁 is the city subway. Don't say 火车 when you mean the metro.
公交 (short for 公共汽车 / 公交车) is the city bus. 地铁 is the subway. Both are urban transit but different vehicles.