走道 (zǒu dào) — (colloquial, colloquial) to walk, to travel, to… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

走道 is a colloquial verb meaning 'to walk; to be on the road; to travel on foot'. Unlike the more neutral 走, it emphasizes movement over distance or being out and about.

verb

(colloquial, colloquial) to walkto travelto be on the road

Examples

走道。
Tā zǒu dào zǒu dé hěn màn.
He walks very slowly.
走道。
Jī chǎng lǐ yǒu yì tiáo hěn cháng de zǒu dào.
There is a very long aisle in the airport.
走道。
Wǒ men yán zhe gōng yuán de zǒu dào sàn bù.
We walked along the park's footpath.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

走 gives walk, 道 gives path, so walking along a path.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

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

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