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向导 (xiàng dǎo) — guide (person who leads tours or assists with navigation)

Definition

向导 is a guide — typically a person who leads you through unfamiliar terrain, like mountains or jungles. Unlike 导游 (a tour guide for sightseeing), 向导 emphasizes navigation in the wild; 指南 is a guidebook, not a person.

noun
guide (person who leads tours or assists with navigation)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 向导。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng wǒ men gù le yí gè dāng dì xiàng dǎo.
    For this trip we hired a local guide.
  • 向导。
    xiàng dǎo Dài wǒ men chuān guò le nà piàn yǔ lín.
    The guide led us through that rainforest.
  • 向导，。
    Méi yǒu xiàng dǎo de huà, hěn róng yì zài shān lǐ mí lù.
    Without a guide, it's easy to get lost in the mountains.

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.

向xiàngdirection
导dǎoto lead

The guide idea comes from 向, direction, and 导, to lead.

Characters in this word

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

向 originally drew 宀 (house) with 口 to show an echo in a place; later it was used for direction.

Open 向 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 導; 导 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
道
道dào導
Same sound today

The traditional form 導 pairs 道 (path) as the sound part with 寸 (hand), giving the sense of leading someone. The simplified 导 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 导 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Professions & JobsTravel & Tourism

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