中路 (zhōng lù) — midway, middle of the road; mediocre quality, second-rate

Definition

Literally 'middle road' — a position in the middle, often used to mean a safe, moderate, or unremarkable choice. Compare with 极端 (extreme) and 保守 (conservative).

noun
midwaymiddle of the roadmediocre qualitysecond-rate

Examples

  • 中路，。
    Chē tíng zài zhōng lù, dǎng zhù le qù lù.
    The car stopped in the middle of the road, blocking the way.
  • 中路，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng zhǐ néng suàn zhōng lù, yuǎn bù jí qián zuò.
    This movie is only mediocre, far inferior to the previous work.
  • 中路，，。
    Tā xuǎn le yì tiáo zhōng lù lù xiàn, jì bù zǒu jié jìng, yě bú rào yuǎn.
    He chose a midway route, neither taking a shortcut nor going the long way.

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.

中zhōngmiddle
路lùroad

中 gives middle and 路 gives road, so the middle road suggests an ordinary or second-rate level.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

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