山道 (shān dào) — a mountain path or road | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

a mountain path or road

Measure word · 条

Examples

山道，。
Zhè tiáo shān dào hěn dǒu, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
This mountain road is very steep, so drive carefully.
山道。
Wǒ men yán zhe shān dào zǒu le liǎng gè xiǎo shí cái dào shān dǐng.
We walked along the mountain path for two hours before reaching the summit.
，山道。
Xià yǔ hòu, shān dào biàn de hěn huá.
After the rain, the mountain path becomes very slippery.

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.

山shānmountain

Mountain and path combine to mean a road through hills.

Characters in this word

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

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.

Appears in

Roads & Traffic

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