load-carrying tray; luggage carrier; roof rack
Refers to the flat cargo area of a truck, the rear carrier of a bicycle, or a roof rack on a vehicle. The specific meaning depends on the vehicle type.
トラックの荷台に荷物を積み込んだ。
We loaded the cargo onto the truck's load-carrying tray.
We loaded cardboard boxes onto the truck's cargo bed.
自転車の荷台に買い物袋をくくりつけた。
I tied the shopping bag to the bicycle's luggage carrier.
My little brother rode along on the bike's rear carrier.
The cargo fell off the truck bed when it braked suddenly.
トランク is a car's enclosed trunk for storing luggage, while 荷台 is an open cargo area or rack on a truck or bicycle.
荷物棚 is an overhead luggage rack found on trains or buses, whereas 荷台 refers to the cargo platform of a truck or bicycle.
stand; base; platform; table; rack · setting (of a gem); mounting · stock (in grafting) · counter for machines and vehicles · level; mark; range; decade (of one's life) · tall building (with a fine view); observation platform · plateau; heights
Formed from native 荷, “load or cargo,” and 台, “platform,” denoting the load-carrying platform of a vehicle.