船 chuán — a boat; vessel; ship
我们坐船游览了这条河。Wǒ men zuò chuán yóu lǎn le zhè tiáo hé.We toured this river by boat.
Common words: 划船 (huá chuán)、轮船 (lún chuán)、飞船 (fēi chuán)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "vessel"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "vessel", including 船 (chuán), 航 (háng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "vessel" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 船 (chuán), 航 (háng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span chuán, háng — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 船 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 船 chuána boat; vessel; shipUseful words: 划船, 轮船
- 航 hángboat; ship; vessel; craft; to navigate; to sailUseful words: 航空, 航班
Common words for these 2 "vessel" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 船 (chuán) — so "vessel" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "vessel".
航 háng — boat; ship; vessel; craft; to navigate; to sail
这趟航班准时起飞了。Zhè tàng háng bān zhǔn shí qǐ fēi le.This flight took off on time.
Common words: 航空 (háng kōng)、航班 (háng bān)、导航 (dǎo háng)
All 2 characters
Open 船、航 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.