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出路 (chū lù) — a way out (of a difficult situation), a solution; opportunity for advancement, future prospects (especially career)

Definition

出路 means 'a way out' of a difficulty or 'future prospects' for a career or business. It implies solving a problem or finding room to grow, unlike 答案 which is only an answer to a question, or 出口 which is a physical exit.

noun
a way out (of a difficult situation)a solutionopportunity for advancementfuture prospects (especially career)

Examples

  • ，出路。
    Yù dào kùn nan bú yào pà, zǒng huì yǒu chū lù de.
    Don't be afraid when you encounter difficulties; there will always be a way out.
  • ，。
    Tā bì yè hòu yì zhí zài zhǎo chū lù, dàn bú tài shùn lì.
    After graduation he's been looking for opportunities, but it hasn't been going well.
  • 出路。
    Gōng sī zhèng zài wèi xīn chǎn pǐn kāi tuò guó jì chū lù.
    The company is opening up international outlets for its new product.

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.

出chūout
路lùroad

出 means out and 路 means road, so the meaning is a road out or a way forward.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts

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