绕道 (rào dào) — to take a detour; to go the long way around; to…

Definition

A verb meaning to take a detour or bypass — used for both physical routes (around road work) and figurative avoidance (around a sensitive topic).

verb

to take a detourto go the long way aroundto bypass (an obstacle or a sensitive issue)

，绕道。
Qián miàn xiū lù, wǒ men zhǐ hǎo cóng yí gè cūn zi rào dào qù gōng sī.
The road ahead is under construction, so we have to go to the office by detouring through a village.
，。
Tā wèi le bì kāi nà ge tǎo yàn de lín jū, měi tiān shàng bān dōu rào yí gè dà quān dào.
To avoid that annoying neighbor, he takes a big detour every day on his way to work.
绕道，。
Zhè ge mǐn gǎn huà tí zuì hǎo rào dào, bié zài huì shàng tí qǐ.
It's best to bypass this sensitive topic and not bring it up at the meeting.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

绕ràogo around

绕 gives go around and 道 gives road, so the word means to take a road around something.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 繞; 绕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

堯

堯yáo繞rào

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

The traditional form 繞 pairs 糸 (rope) with 堯 as a sound component; the simplified 绕 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𩠐

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.

Appears in