A GII FLT CREW STARTED THEIR TAKEOFF ROLL IN ZBAA WITHOUT A CLEARANCE BECAUSE THEY MISUNDERSTOOD THE TOWER. THEY REJECTED THE TAKEOFF WHEN THEY SAW CROSSING TRAFFIC AHEAD.

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WE WERE FILED FOR AND HAD IFR CLRNC TO FLY FROM BEIJING WITH THE RENOB 36 DEP. RWY 36R LENGTH IS SHOWN AS 12467 FT. TAXI OUT TO THE RWY WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH CLRNC FROM GND TO FOLLOW THE 'FOLLOW ME' VEHICLE. WE WERE LED FROM THE VICINITY OF APRON 6 TO TXWY 'W0' AT THE DEP END OF RWY 36R. AT THAT POINT WE CONTACTED TWR. TWR GAVE US CLRNC ONTO THE RWY AND WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO CLB ON RWY HDG INSTEAD OF THE TURNS SHOWN ON THE SID. WE INTERPED THE CLRNC ONTO THE RWY AND THE DEP INSTRUCTIONS TO BE TKOF CLRNC AND THE PNF READ BACK THE HDGS AND STATED 'CLRED FOR TKOF.' AT LESS THAN 2000 FT OF THE TKOF ROLL AND JUST AT 80 KTS; WE BOTH SAW A TRANSPORT ACFT XING THE RWY OVER 6000 FT AWAY NEAR THE DEP END (PROBABLY TXWY A8 OR A9). THE PNF CALLED 'ABORT' AND ANNOUNCED THE ABORT ON CTAF. THE TKOF WAS ABORTED USING THRUST REVERSERS AND MINIMAL NORMAL BRAKING. WE COULD HAVE EXITED AT W3 BUT ELECTED TO TAXI ON TO W4 TO EXIT THE RWY. FOLLOWING THE TAXI BACK TO W0; WE WERE GIVEN THE INSTRUCTIONS TO 'LINE UP AND HOLD' ON RWY 36R. AT THAT TIME THE TWR ASKED US 'WHY DID YOU TAKE OFF?' WE STATED THAT WE THOUGHT WE'D HAD BEEN CLRED FOR TKOF AND THAT WE HAD REPEATED THAT PHRASE PRIOR TO TKOF. THE TWR STATED THAT HE HAD THE RECORDINGS AND WE STATED THAT WE NOW UNDERSTOOD. WE WERE THEN 'CLRED FOR TKOF' WITH THE SAME 'MAINTAIN RWY HDG;' INSTRUCTIONS. I FEEL THAT THE CAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT WAS MISCOM DUE TO LANGUAGE AND PHRASEOLOGY. WE WERE CAREFULLY LISTENING FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS AND NEITHER OF US RECALL HEARING THE PHRASE 'LINEUP AND HOLD' BUT INSTEAD; THE INCLUSION OF THE WORD 'TKOF' IN THE SAME XMISSION IN WHICH WE RECEIVED THE CLBOUT HDG INSTRUCTIONS. WE FURTHER FELT CONFIDENCE WE'D BEEN CLRED WHEN THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO OUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE CLB INSTRUCTIONS AND 'CLRED FOR TKOF.' WE HAVE BOTH ATTENDED AND ARE CURRENT WITH 'INTL PROCS' COURSES AND HAVE FLOWN INTERNATIONALLY.