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改道 (gǎi dào) — to change course (of a river, ship, route, etc.); to change direction (of policy, regime, etc.)

Definition

Literally 'change the way/path', used for rivers, ships, or routes shifting course, and metaphorically for a regime or policy taking a new direction. Concrete physical shift, unlike the more abstract 转变.

verb
to change course (of a river, ship, route, etc.)to change direction (of policy, regime, etc.)

Examples

  • 改道，。
    Hé shuǐ gǎi dào, yān mò le nóng tián.
    The river changed course and flooded the farmland.
  • 。
    Tā men gǎi le jǐ cì dào cái zhǎo dào zhèng què de lù.
    They changed direction several times before finding the right road.
  • ，改道。
    Jīng guò gé mìng, zhè ge guó jiā de zhèng zhì zhì dù wán quán gǎi dào le.
    After the revolution, the country's political system completely changed course.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

改gǎichange
道dàoroad/course

改 means change and 道 means road or course, so the word means to change the route.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì改gǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 改 paired 巳 as a sound part with 攴 as a meaning part; the sound part later changed.

Open 改 →

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 →
Appears in
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