科技生词 :keji shengci - Technology New Words

Thursday, September 25, 2008

神舟 : shénzhōu - spirit boat

神舟七号 (shénzhōu VII) was launched today, China's first space walk mission. China is only the third country to attempt a space walk.

It seems to get abbreviated to just 神七.

神舟 (shénzhōu "spirit boat" or maybe "craft of the gods" is a type of Chinese spacecraft similar to the Russian Soyuz (Союз, "union").

The pronunciation is identical to 神州 ("God's Country"?), a nickname for China.