1

What's the English name of this transport vehicle commonly used in China?

Three-wheeled manual pedal vehicle in China

Note this vehicle is commonly used to transport items, such vegetables by sellers, a TV bought from a shop, etc.

If no English word exists, what's the best approximation?

Thank you

Improve this question
8
  • I'm not aware of a name, I've seen one only once in the UK and I think the guy made that himself. I'd call it an extended platform tricycle.
    – Rupe
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:06
  • 1
    I found "freight bicycle" on wikipedia.
    – Rupe
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:18
  • 1
    I'd call it a cargo bike if I had to describe it to somebody who hadn't seen it. It's three-wheel, but that's less important than its function. If my addressee could see it, I'd call it a tricycle truck; but without some visual information that's not a good description.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:35
  • Is there even a Chinese name for these? I've always just called them 三轮车, but that's just any tricycle, not just the flatbed ones that you see everywhere in Chinese.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:58
  • 1
    What is"manual" about this?
    – Canis Lupus
    Commented Jun 10, 2014 at 14:35

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
9

That's called a "cycle rickshaw," or more commonly a "pedicab" when it's used to transport people rather than cargo.

Improve this answer
7
  • I don't think it can be a "rickshaw" if it's not a passenger vehicle though
    – Rupe
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:18
  • 2
    @Rupe You need a better argument than 'I don't think' when Jadasc's linked Wikipedia article has a picture of a flatbed trike claimed to show 'A cycle rickshaw carrying shoe boxes in Agra'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:30
  • 1
    @EdwinAshworth Apologies, that wasn't supposed to sound so dogmatic. It's more that I think people tend to think of passenger vehicles when they hear "rickshaws" so it's better to use a word like freight or cargo in the name of the thing in the picture. I like your "flatbed trike" too.
    – Rupe
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:47
  • @Edwin That picture does go against the main grain of the article, though. From a quick scan, it looks like pretty much all the text (and certainly all the other images) in the article is quite specifically about rickshaws intended to transport passengers. That picture is the only thing that relates to this type of trike at all.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jun 9, 2014 at 22:51
  • I think every Asian country has a different (English) term for the passenger type. Lonely Planet put out a picture book about them once.
    – neubau
    Commented Jun 10, 2014 at 1:58
1

I would suggest Google Translate's version of the Chinese 非机动货运三轮车, which is Non-Motorized Freight Tricycle. Or, just Freight Tricycle or Cargo Tricycle, since we don't normally think of a tricycle as motorized.

The Chinese term appears, for example, in this law link regarding licencing of 非机动货运三轮车 (Fēi jīdòng huòyùn sānlúnchē) drivers and a system of demerit points (in Cangzhou, Hebei).

Improve this answer
1
  • Freight/cargo tricycle at least definitely includes this type of trike, though it may also refer to other types (Google imaging 货运三轮车 gives lots if pictures of trikes with various compartment-like storage units, and not so many flatbed ones). I suppose a compromise between accuracy and unwieldiness would be flatbed freight/cargo trike.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jun 10, 2014 at 6:31
1

This is called a "rickshaw van" in India.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .