Definition
搭车 is a separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to get a ride' or 'to hitchhike'. It can split: 搭 (the action of getting a ride) and 车 (the vehicle) go around other words — for example, 搭他的车 ('take his car') and 搭过一次车 ('got a ride once'). It also has a figurative sense: 'to piggyback on something' or 'to take advantage of a situation to do something at the same time', similar to English 'ride on coattails'. The obscure economic sense about raising prices via government readjustment is rarely used.
v.o.
to get a rideto hitchhike (as a passenger)(figurative) to piggyback onto take advantage of (e.g., an opportunity)
Examples
- 搭车。Míngtiān wǒ yào dā chē qù xuéxiào.I need to get a ride to school tomorrow.
- 。Wǒ dā guò tā de chē qù jīchǎng.I caught a ride with him to the airport.
- 搭车。Tā jiè zhège jīhuì dā chē zuò le hěnduō shì.He piggybacked on this opportunity and got a lot done.
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