人行横道 (rén xíng héng dào) — pedestrian crossing; crosswalk

Definition

noun
pedestrian crossingcrosswalk
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 人行横道，。
    Qián miàn yǒu yí gè rén xíng héng dào, wǒ men cóng nà lǐ guò mǎ lù.
    There is a crosswalk ahead; let's cross there.
  • 人行横道，。
    Zài rén xíng héng dào shàng yào xiǎo xīn chē, bú yào pǎo.
    Be careful of cars on the crosswalk; don't run.
  • 人行横道，。
    Nǐ yīng gāi cóng rén xíng héng dào guò mǎ lù, zhè yàng gèng ān quán.
    You should cross the street at the crosswalk; it's safer that way.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

人行people walk
人rénperson行xíngwalk
主谓Subject + predicate
横道crossing road
横héngcross道dàoroad
偏正Modifier + head

人行 gives people walking, 横道 gives crossing road; together a pedestrian crossing.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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