車両 (しゃりょう, sharyou) Japanese meaning: vehicle

車両 (しゃりょう, sharyou) Japanese meaning: vehicle | Kotomora

Kanji

車car
両both, old Japanese coin, counter for carriages (e.g., in a train)
輌numerary adjunct for vehicles
輛counter for large vehicles

Related words· 7

自じ動どう車しゃN5
自動車 specifically means a motor vehicle (car), while 車両 is the broader legal/technical term covering automobiles, trains, and other wheeled vehicles.
乗のり物ものN4
乗り物 is the everyday, casual word for any means of transport, while 車両 is a formal/technical term used in laws, traffic rules, and railway contexts.
列れっ車しゃN3
列車 refers to a whole train as it runs, while 車両 refers to an individual car or unit that makes up that train.
号ごう車しゃ
車両 is the general noun for a train car or vehicle, while 号車 is the suffix attached to a number to identify a specific numbered car.

Show 3 more

車しゃ体たい
車両 refers to the vehicle as a whole unit (e.g. a train car or car), while 車体 specifically names the physical body/frame of that vehicle.
車しゃ種しゅ
車両 broadly means vehicle or rolling stock (e.g. train cars, fleet vehicles), while 車種 specifically means the type or model classification of a car.
箱はこN5
箱 as 'train car' is an insider or colloquial term, while 車両 is the standard, neutral word for a railway car.

Don't confuse with

車しゃ体たい
車両 means the vehicle or railway car as a whole unit, while 車体 refers narrowly to its body or chassis.

Counted with

輛りょう
車両 is traditionally counted with 輛, the dedicated counter for vehicles and train cars.
両りょうN2
For railway cars and carriages (8両編成 = eight-car train).

Word family· 18

軽けい車しゃ両りょう
light vehicle without a motor
保ほ守しゅ車しゃ両りょう
maintenance train; railway maintenance vehicle
工こう事じ車しゃ両りょう
construction vehicle
消しょう防ぼう

Written forms

車しゃ両りょうUsage85%
Standard modern spelling; used in official and everyday contexts.
車しゃ輌りょうUsage12%
Variant kanji form; 輌 is a traditional character for 両, still seen in some proper nouns and older documents.
車しゃ輛りょうUsage2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 輛 is the kyūjitai of 両, mostly historical.

Etymology

Compound of 車 (sha, 'wheeled vehicle') and 両 (ryō, 'both' or 'pair'), originally referring to a pair of wheels or a cart. The modern meaning extends to any wheeled vehicle or railway car.

車しゃ両りょう

Meanings

Usage patterns