飞船 (fēichuán) literally combines 飞 (fēi), meaning 'to fly', and 船 (chuán), meaning 'boat' or 'ship'. Together, they form a compound noun meaning 'spaceship' — a vehicle designed to travel in outer space. Unlike ordinary ships, a 飞船 operates beyond Earth’s atmosphere and is typically associated with space exploration, science fiction, or national aerospace programs.

The term is neutral in register and widely used in both formal contexts (e.g., news reports about China’s Shenzhou missions) and informal ones (e.g., children’s books or animated films). It does not imply any specific propulsion method or crewed/uncrewed status — it simply denotes a spacecraft. While 飞船 is the most common general term, more technical contexts may use specialized words like 航天器 (hángtiānqì, 'spacecraft') or 宇宙飞船 (yǔzhòu fēichuán, 'spaceship' — a slightly more explicit variant).