船

舩

chuán

口 + 舟 + 𠘧

HSK 2.0Level 3

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

chuán (noun) boat; ship; vessel

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 舟 represents the meaning and 㕣 represents the sound.

Semantic: 舟

About

The character 船 is a phono-semantic compound, with the boat radical 舟 on the left indicating its association with watercraft and maritime navigation. The component 㕣 on the right serves as the phonetic element, guiding the character's pronunciation. Its meaning refers to a boat, ship, or any vessel designed to transport people or cargo across water, a definition that applies consistently to water-based vehicles of all sizes.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

河上有一条船。

Hé shàng yǒu yī tiáo chuán.

There is a boat on the river.

看，那艘船很大！

Kàn, nà sōu chuán hěn dà!

Look, that ship is very big!

轮船缓缓离开了港口。

Lúnchuán huǎnhuǎn líkāi le gǎngkǒu.

The steamship slowly left the port.

我们打算坐船去旅行。

Wǒmen dǎsuàn zuò chuán qù lǚxíng.

We plan to travel by boat.

渔民们乘着渔船出海了。

Yúmín men chéngzhe yúchuán chūhǎi le.

The fishermen went out to sea on their fishing boats.

这艘货船正驶向遥远的国家。

Zhè sōu huòchuán zhèng shǐ xiàng yáoyuǎn de guójiā.

This cargo ship is sailing towards a distant country.

小船在汹涌的波浪中艰难前行。

Xiǎochuán zài xiōngyǒng de bōlàng zhōng jiānnán qiánxíng.

The small boat moved forward with difficulty in the turbulent waves.

他的梦想是建造一艘能环球航行的太阳能船。

Tā de mèngxiǎng shì jiànzào yī sōu néng huánqiú hángxíng de tàiyángnéng chuán.

His dream is to build a solar-powered boat capable of sailing around the world.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 舟

Component: 𠘧

船