前途 (qián tú) — future prospects; outlook | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

前途 (qiántú) means 'future prospects' — usually career or personal future. Less literal than 前景 (which also means 'foreground'), and broader than 出路 or 前程, which are more tied to escaping a bad situation or career advancement.

noun

future prospectsoutlook

Examples

前途。
Tā duì zì jǐ de qián tú chōng mǎn xìn xīn.
He is full of confidence about his own future.
。
Zhè ge háng yè de fā zhǎn qián tú hěn hǎo.
The development prospects of this industry are very good.
，前途。
Nǐ zhǐ yào nǔ lì, qián tú yí dìng huì yuè lái yuè hǎo.
As long as you work hard, your future will definitely get better and better.

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.

The word joins 前, 'front', and 途, 'road', for the road ahead.

Characters in this word

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

止止zhǐfoot
舟舟zhōuboat

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

辶余途

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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