English Reference

Word

rickshaw

Phoneticsrick·shaw

UK/ɹˈɪkʃɔː/

Definition

n. a small, two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a person or a horse. You often see these in cities in Asia for short trips.

n. a small, two-wheeled vehicle, typically pulled by a person or a horse, used for short-distance transport in urban areas.

Examples

“We took a rickshaw to the market.”

“The narrow streets of the old city are too small for cars, so most visitors use a rickshaw to get around.”

“While modern electric scooters have largely replaced the traditional rickshaw in many urban centers, the sight of a人力车 remains a nostalgic symbol of the city's colonial past.”

Examples

simple

“We took a rickshaw to the market.”

contextual

“The narrow streets of the old city are too small for cars, so most visitors use a rickshaw to get around.”

complex

“While modern electric scooters have largely replaced the traditional rickshaw in many urban centers, the sight of a人力车 remains a nostalgic symbol of the city's colonial past.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 力(りき)車(しゃ) (rikisha), a clipping of 人(じん)力(りき)車(しゃ) (jinrikisha), from Middle Chinese 人力 (nyin lik, “human power”) + 車 (t͡ʃʰæ, “cart”) (compare Mandarin 人力車 /人力车 (rénlìchē)).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

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