白牌車
Chinese
editwhite; empty; blank white; empty; blank; bright; clear; plain; pure; gratuitous |
cards; game pieces; signboard cards; game pieces; signboard; plate; tablet |
vehicle on land; car; machine vehicle on land; car; machine; to shape with a lathe | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (白牌車) | 白 | 牌 | 車 | |
simp. (白牌车) | 白 | 牌 | 车 | |
Literally: “car with a white number plate”. |
Etymology
editFrom the fact that number plates of private vehicles in Hong Kong were with white background and black text before the 1980s, contrary to legal taxis with black background and white text, and buses with red background and white text.
Pronunciation
edit- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄅㄞˊ ㄆㄞˊ ㄔㄜ
- Tongyong Pinyin: báipáiche
- Wade–Giles: pai2-pʻai2-chʻê1
- Yale: bái-pái-chē
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bairpairche
- Palladius: байпайчэ (bajpajčɛ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /paɪ̯³⁵ pʰaɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: baak6 paai4-2 ce1
- Yale: baahk páai chē
- Cantonese Pinyin: baak9 paai4-2 tse1
- Guangdong Romanization: bag6 pai4-2 cé1
- Sinological IPA (key): /paːk̚² pʰaːi̯²¹⁻³⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Noun
edit白牌車
- (chiefly Hong Kong) car used as an illegal taxi; pak pai; white card (sometimes may also include car sharing services such as Uber)