How to Say “Car accident” in Chinese
Emergencies and health · HSK 4
"Car accident" in Chinese is 车祸 (Chēhuò). 车祸 is the everyday word; 交通事故 (jiāotōng shìgù, 'traffic incident') is what police, insurance, and the news use. The verb pairing matters: 出车祸 (chū chēhuò) = to have an accident happen to you, using 出 the same way you'd say 出事了 (something went wrong).
Primary translation
车祸
Chēhuò
Traditional: 車禍
Variants by register
Formal
发生了交通事故
Fāshēng le jiāotōng shìgù
Casual
出车祸了
Chū chēhuò le
When to use it
车祸 is the everyday word; 交通事故 (jiāotōng shìgù, 'traffic incident') is what police, insurance, and the news use. The verb pairing matters: 出车祸 (chū chēhuò) = to have an accident happen to you, using 出 the same way you'd say 出事了 (something went wrong). Dial 122 for traffic police, 120 for ambulance, 110 for general police; in a real crash Chinese drivers typically call all three. Don't move the cars until traffic police arrive; insurance companies require the scene photo.
Example sentences
前面出车祸了，路堵了。
Qiánmiàn chū chēhuò le, lù dǔ le.
There's been a car accident up ahead, the road is blocked.
刚才发生了一起严重的交通事故。
Gāngcái fāshēng le yī qǐ yánzhòng de jiāotōng shìgù.
A serious traffic accident just happened.
我出车祸了，需要救护车。
Wǒ chū chēhuò le, xūyào jiùhùchē.
I've been in a car accident, I need an ambulance.