坡道 (pō dào) — sloping road, ramp | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

坡道 is a paved inclined surface — a sloping road or a built ramp. It implies the whole stretch of road on a slope, not just the gradient itself.

noun

sloping roadramp

Measure word · 条

Examples

坡道，。
Zhè tiáo pō dào hěn dǒu, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
This sloping road is very steep; be careful when driving.
，坡道。
Wèi le fāng biàn lún yǐ jìn chū, rù kǒu xiū le yì tiáo pō dào.
To make wheelchair access easier, a ramp was built at the entrance.
坡道，。
Tíng chē chǎng lǐ de pō dào pō dù bú dà, hěn róng yì kāi shàng qù.
The slope in the parking garage isn't steep, so it's easy to drive up.

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.

坡 means slope and 道 means road; together they name a sloping road or ramp.

Characters in this word

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

土皮坡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔdirt

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí坡pō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坡 combines 土, shown as dirt, with 皮, a part used for sound.

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.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.