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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "subway" in Chinese?
地铁
dì tiě
In Chinese, "subway" is 地铁 (dì tiě).
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Pronunciation
"dì tiě" is spoken with "dì" is falling fast and sharp, like a command (tone 4), then "tiě" is dipping down and curling back up (tone 3).
Writing and usage
地铁 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
她坐地铁去上班。
tā zuò dì tiě qù shàng bān 。
She rode the subway to work.
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How to remember 地铁
Notice how "dì tiě" rolls off the tongue, and tie that feeling to a quick mental picture of "地铁" (dì tiě).
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 地铁
How do you pronounce 地铁?
"dì tiě" is spoken with "dì" is falling fast and sharp, like a command (tone 4), then "tiě" is dipping down and curling back up (tone 3).
Is 地铁 formal or casual?
地铁 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 地铁 used in Chinese?
地铁 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 她坐地铁去上班。 (She rode the subway to work.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Subway" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
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