'货柜' literally means 'goods cabinet'—'货' (huò) means 'goods' or 'cargo', and '柜' (guì) means 'cabinet', 'locker', or 'container'. Together, they refer specifically to standardized metal shipping containers used in global freight transport, typically 20- or 40-foot units seen at ports, rail yards, and logistics centers. Unlike general storage cabinets, 货柜 implies industrial-scale, intermodal cargo handling.

The term is widely used in logistics, import/export, and port-related contexts in Chinese-speaking regions. It's more common in everyday speech and media than the formal term 集装箱 (jí zhuāng xiāng), though both mean 'shipping container'. 货柜 may also appear in compound terms like 货柜车 (huò guì chē, 'container truck') or 货柜码头 (huò guì mǎ tóu, 'container terminal'). It’s a concrete, countable noun and usually appears with measure words like 个 (gè) or 只 (zhī).