赛道 (sài dào) — race track, race course | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

race trackrace course

Measure word · 条

Examples

赛道。
Zhè tiáo sài dào yǒu bā gè wān dào.
This race track has eight corners.
，赛道。
Tā pǎo le yì quān, zài sài dào shàng chuàng zào le xīn jì lù.
He ran a lap and set a new record on the race track.
赛道，。
Sài chē zài sài dào shàng gāo sù xíng shǐ, guān zhòng dōu hěn xīng fèn.
The racing cars sped around the track, and the audience was very excited.

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.

道dàoroad or course

赛 names racing and 道 names the road or course, giving a race track.

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 賽; 赛 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell

Sound part声符shēngfú

塞

塞sāi賽sài

Same sound today

The traditional form 賽 uses 貝 (shell) for meaning and 塞 for sound. The simplified 赛 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

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.

Appears in

Sports & Athletics

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