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蹊径 (xī jìng) — (literary) path, way; (figurative) unconventional approach, original method

Definition

Literary word for a 'path' or 'way', almost always used figuratively for an original, unconventional approach (as in 另辟蹊径, 'blaze a new trail'). Avoid in everyday speech.

noun
(literary) pathway(figurative) unconventional approachoriginal method

Examples

  • 蹊径，。
    Tā jué dìng lìng pì xī jìng, zǒu yì tiáo bù tóng de lù.
    He decided to blaze a new trail and take a different path.
  • ，蹊径。
    Zài xué shù yán jiū zhōng, bù néng zhī zǒu qián rén zǒu guò de xī jìng.
    In academic research, you can't just follow the paths that predecessors have taken.
  • 蹊径，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī lìng pì xī jìng, kāi fā le quán xīn de chǎn pǐn.
    This company found an alternative route and developed a completely new product.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

蹊qīpath
径jìngpath

Both 蹊 and 径 mean path, so together they refer to a way or path.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 徑; 径 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng徑
Same sound today

The traditional form 徑 is built from 彳 and 巠, with 巠 giving the sound; the simplified 径 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 径 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsGeography & Landforms

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