船 (chuán) — boat; ship

船 (chuán)

船 is the general word for any watercraft — a rowboat, ferry, or ocean liner. The measure word is 艘 (sōu) for larger ships, but 条 (tiáo) or simply 一条船 are also common in everyday speech.

Meanings

1. [noun] Boat; ship; vessel. Any vehicle that travels on water.

Example Sentences

我们坐船去那个小岛。 Wǒmen zuò chuán qù nàgè xiǎodǎo. We took a boat to that small island.

河上有很多船。 Hé shàng yǒu hěn duō chuán. There are many boats on the river.

这艘船从上海开往北京。 Zhè sōu chuán cóng Shànghǎi kāi wǎng Běijīng. This ship sails from Shanghai toward Beijing.

坐船旅行比坐飞机慢，但更有意思。 Zuò chuán lǚxíng bǐ zuò fēijī màn, dàn gèng yǒu yìsi. Traveling by boat is slower than by plane, but more interesting.

Collocations

Memory Hook

The character 船 has 舟 (zhōu, a small boat) on the left — that radical is your anchor for all watercraft characters. Add the right side and you get a full-size 船 that can carry more than a simple 舟.