大巴 dàbā large bus
(colloquial) large bus; coach; short for 大型巴士
How to remember 大巴: 大 big + 巴 wait for = large bus.
Characters
How it is used
- Colloquial abbreviation of 大型巴士, meaning a large coach or bus, common in travel talk: 旅游大巴 (lǚyóu dàbā) tour bus, 机场大巴 (jīchǎng dàbā) airport shuttle.
- 巴 here is a phonetic borrowing from "bus," unrelated to its literal sense "to cling to/desire."
- Casual compared to the general term 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) or long-distance 客车 (kèchē).
Example sentences
- 机场大巴从哪里出发？ Jīchǎng dàbā cóng nǎlǐ chūfā?Where do the airport buses leave from?
- 乘机场大巴去机场要多久？ Chéng jīchǎng dàbā qù jīchǎng yào duōjiǔ?How long does the airport bus take to the airport?