乘车
chéng chē · HSK 5
to ride
🚗 乘车 = ride + vehicle
乘 (chéng) means to ride or mount; 车 (chē) means vehicle or car. Together they literally mean ride-vehicle, i.e. to travel by car, bus, or carriage.
乘 — person 人 atop tree 木 with two feet
Originally a pictograph showing a person standing on a tree, depicting climbing or mounting. The meaning extended from 'to mount/climb' to 'to ride' (a vehicle or animal), and later to 'multiply' in mathematics. The reading shèng (fourth tone) preserves the older sense of a chariot or vehicle.
车 — pictograph of a chariot/cart
车 is a pictograph originally drawn as a top-down view of a chariot, showing the axle, wheels, and carriage box. The ancient form 車 clearly depicted two wheels connected by an axle. It still means vehicle, cart, or car today.