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修道 (xiū dào) — to cultivate the Way (Daoist practice); to engage in spiritual or religious self-cultivation

Definition

A formal/literary verb for cultivating the Dao — the dedicated spiritual or ascetic practice of a Daoist or Buddhist monk, usually over many years. In everyday speech, monks are more commonly said to 修行 or 修炼.

verb
to cultivate the Way (Daoist practice)to engage in spiritual or religious self-cultivation

Examples

  • 修道，。
    Tā yì zhí zài shān shàng xiū dào, hěn shǎo xià shān.
    He has been cultivating the Way on the mountain and rarely comes down.
  • 。
    Zhè wèi dào shi yǐ jīng xiū le sān shí nián de dào.
    This Daoist priest has been cultivating the Way for thirty years.
  • 。
    Tā nián qīng shí zài sì miào lǐ xiū guò dào.
    He practiced asceticism in a temple when he was young.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

修xiūcultivate
道dàoWay

修 means cultivate and 道 is the Way, so the action is directed at the Way.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →

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.

Open 道 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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