How to Say ‘The plane is taking off.’ in Simplified Chinese
飞机要起飞了。
fēi jī yào qǐ fēi le
[fēijī yaow qǐfēi luh]
💬 Usage Tip: 要……了 wraps around an action to mean "about to happen", so this really means the plane is about to take off. Try 要下雨了 "It's about to rain."
Phrase Breakdown
飞机
fēi jī
[fēijī]
airplane
An aircraft for flying passengers or goods.
我第一次坐飞机。
It's my first time taking a plane.
要起飞了。
yào qǐ fēi le
is about to take off
要……了 (yào…le) means 'about to happen'. 起飞 (qǐfēi) means 'take off'. Say 了 lightly at the end.
电影要开始了。
The movie is about to start.
Words in this phrase
要
yào
[yaow]
want to; going to
Often means 'want' or shows intention, like 'be going to' do something.
你要喝水吗？
Do you want to drink water?
起飞
qǐ fēi
[qǐfēi]
to take off
When a plane leaves the ground.
飞机九点起飞。
The plane takes off at nine.
了
le
[luh]
particle
A common sentence particle that can show completion, change, or soften tone depending on context.
我到了。
I have arrived.
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