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后路 (hòu lù) — route of retreat; escape route; room to maneuver; a way out (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'rear road', 后路 means a retreat route or a figurative 'way out' / room to maneuver. Keep the measure word 条 when counting one.

noun
route of retreatescape routeroom to maneuvera way out (figurative)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 后路。
    Jūn duì bì xū què bǎo hòu lù chàng tōng.
    The army must ensure the retreat route is clear.
  • 后路。
    Zuò rèn hé shì dōu yào gěi zì jǐ liú tiáo hòu lù.
    In everything you do, you should leave yourself a way out.
  • ，后路。
    Tā shuō huà hěn xiǎo xīn, zǒng shì gěi zì jǐ liú hòu lù.
    He speaks very cautiously, always leaving himself room to maneuver.

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.

后hòurear
路lùroute

后 specifies the rear, and 路 is a route, so the word means a route to the rear or retreat.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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