租车 (zū chē) literally means 'rent vehicle' — 租 (zū) means 'to rent' or 'to lease', and 车 (chē) means 'vehicle', most commonly 'car'. Together, they form a verb meaning 'to rent a car', used when someone temporarily obtains the use of a car from a rental company or private owner for a fee. It’s a common activity for travelers, business professionals, or locals needing temporary transportation.

This term is widely used in urban and tourist contexts across China — you’ll see it on signs at airports, train stations, and online platforms like Didi or CaoCao. While 车 can refer to any vehicle (e.g., bicycle, bus), 租车 almost always implies renting a passenger car unless specified otherwise (e.g., 租货车 for 'rent a truck'). The verb can appear in various grammatical positions: as a predicate ('我们租车去机场'), a complement ('想租车'), or in compound nouns like 租车公司 ('car rental company').