人道 (rén dào) — humanitarian; humane; humanitarianism; the huma…

Definition

人道 focuses on 'humane' treatment and humanitarian principles — kindness toward people. 人文 refers to humanistic culture and the academic humanities.

humanitarianhumanehumanitarianismthe humane way(Buddhism) the human realm (one of the six realms of reincarnation)

人道。
Wǒ men yīng gāi tí gōng gèng duō de rén dào yuán zhù.
We should provide more humanitarian aid.
。
rén dào Zhǔ yì shì xiàn dài guó jì guān xì de zhòng yào yuán zé.
Humanitarianism is an important principle of modern international relations.
人道。
Fó jiào zhōng de rén dào shì liù dào lǐ zuì jiē jìn jiě tuō de jìng jiè.
In Buddhism, the human realm is the nearest to liberation among the six realms.

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.

人 human plus 道 way gives the humane way or humanitarian concern.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

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