取道 (qǔ dào) — to travel via, to go by way of

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to go via / by way of,' used for choosing a route through an intermediate point. Mostly appears in writing, news, and travel descriptions.

verb
to travel viato go by way of

Examples

  • 取道。
    Wǒ men jué dìng qǔ dào běi jīng qù guǎng zhōu.
    We decided to go to Guangzhou via Beijing.
  • 。
    Tā men qǔ le lìng yì tiáo dào qù shàng hǎi.
    They took a different route to Shanghai.
  • 取道。
    qǔ dào Xiāng gǎng kě yǐ jié shěng shí jiān.
    Going via Hong Kong can save time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

取qǔtake
道dàoroad

The sense comes from '取' as take and '道' as road: taking a road means going by way of.

Characters in this word

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

取 pairs 又 (hand) with 耳 (ear), showing a hand taking an ear, as in taking the ear of fallen prey.

Open 取 →

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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