车主
chē zhǔ · HSK 5
vehicle owner
🚗 车 (vehicle) + 主 (owner/master) = vehicle owner
车 means car/vehicle; 主 means master, owner, or host. Together 车主 literally reads as vehicle-master, the registered owner of a car. The same 主 appears in 主人 (host) and 房主 (homeowner).
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.
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.