列車

ressha

train

電車で東京に行きます

I'm going to Tokyo by train.

general

A train, typically referring to a passenger train or a series of connected railcars.

新幹線は日本の高速列車です

The Shinkansen is Japan's high-speed train.

In Japanese, '列車' generally refers to passenger trains, while '貨物列車' (kamotsu ressha) refers to freight trains.

Collocations

新幹線Shinkansen (bullet train)特急express train普通列車local train

Use '列車' in formal writing or announcements, while '電車' is more natural in daily conversation.

From '列' (retsu, meaning 'row' or 'line') and '車' (sha, meaning 'vehicle'), literally 'a line of vehicles'.

'列車' is commonly used in formal contexts, while '電車' (densha) is more casual and widely used in everyday speech.

列

row, line

root

車

vehicle

root

和英辞典