原げん動どう機き付つき自じ転てん車しゃ

げ

ん

ど

う

き

つ

き

じ

て

ん

しゃ

Meanings

noun

motorized bicycle; moped (under 50cc)

Legal and technical term for a motorized two-wheeled vehicle with an engine displacement of less than 50cc. In everyday conversation, the abbreviation 原付 (げんつき) is far more common.

Kanji

原meadow, original, primitive
動move, motion, change
機loom, mechanism, machine
付adhere, attach, refer to
自oneself
転revolve, turn around, change
車car

Related words

原げん付つき
原動機付自転車 is the full legal term for a motorized bicycle, while 原付 is the everyday abbreviation used in speech and casual writing.

Written forms

原げん動どう機き付つき自じ転てん車しゃ
Full legal term for a moped or motorized bicycle under 50cc. Often abbreviated to 原付 in everyday use.
原げん動どう機き付つき自じ転てん車しゃ
Variant with okurigana き. Less common than the form without き.

Etymology

Compound of 原動機 (げんどうき, 'motor, engine'), 付き (つき, 'attached, equipped with'), and 自転車 (じてんしゃ, 'bicycle'). Literally 'bicycle equipped with a motor'.