巷道 (hàng dào) — (n.) mine roadway, tunnel; (n.) alley, lane (less common)

Definition

In mining contexts, 巷道 (hàngdào) refers to a horizontal tunnel or roadway cut through rock for access and haulage. As a surface-level word it can mean a narrow alley or lane, but its primary modern sense is the mining tunnel.

noun
(n.) mine roadwaytunnel(n.) alleylane (less common)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 巷道。
    Kuàng gōng men yán zhe hàng dào zǒu jìn le kuàng jǐng.
    The miners walked along the tunnel into the mine.
  • 巷道，。
    Zhè tiáo hàng dào hěn zhǎi, zhǐ néng yí gè rén tōng guò.
    This alley is very narrow; only one person can pass through.
  • 巷道。
    Tā men zhèng zài wā jué xīn de hàng dào.
    They are excavating a new tunnel.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

巷xiàngalley
道dàoroad/tunnel

巷 and 道 both refer to a passage or road, so the word means an alley or tunnel.

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
己己jǐoneself
Sound part声符shēngfú
共
共gòng巷hàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

巷 is made from 共, read gòng, and 己, meaning 'oneself'.

Open 巷 →

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 →

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