46.6 Vocabulary: Public Transport
To mean ‘to take a type of public transport’, we say 坐 co5 (‘to take’) or 搭 daap3 (‘to take’) and then the type of public transport.
坐 / 搭 + 地鐵
co5 / daap3 + dei6 tit3
to take the subway
坐 / 搭 + 巴士
co5 / daap3 + baa1 si2
to take the bus
We can use the verb 揸車 zaa1 ce1 (‘to drive’, literally ‘to drive + car’) to mean that we drive on our own instead of taking public transport.
We use the classifier 架 gaa3 with a vehicle.
一架巴士
jat1 gaa3 baa1 si2
a bus
一架的士
jat1 gaa3 dik1 si2
a taxi
For cars, we can also use the classifier 部 bou6.
一部巴士
jat1 bou6 baa1 si2
a bus
一部的士
jat1 bou6 dik1 si2
a taxi
We can use the classifier 班 baan1 to refer to a scheduled departure of public transport.
一班火車
jat1 baan1 fo2 ce1
a scheduled departure of the train
一班飛機
jat1 baan1 fei1 gei1
a scheduled departure of the plane [= a flight]
Here are the places where we can take public transport:
Culture: Subway or Train?
In the past, Hong Kong had two railway companies: Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) and Mass Transit Railway (MTR). The two companies ran different rail lines. People would refer to the line run by the KCR, which has become the East Rail Line now, as 火車 fo2 ce1 (‘train’) and the lines run by the MTR as 地鐵 dei6 tit3 (‘subway’). The two companies have merged into one later. Nowadays, some people use 地鐵 dei6 tit3 to refer to everything, but some old people (like the author) still use 火車 fo2 ce1 to refer to the East Rail Line.