思路 (sī lù) — line of thought; way of thinking | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

思路 (sī lù) is 'way of thinking' — a method or angle of approaching a problem. Unlike a single 想法 (an idea or opinion), it refers to the ongoing thread connecting how you reason.

noun

line of thoughtway of thinking

Examples

思路，。
Tā de sī lù hěn qīng xī, suǒ yǐ hěn kuài jiù zhǎo dào le dá àn.
His line of thought is very clear, so he found the answer quickly.
思路。
Wǒ men xū yào huàn gè sī lù lái jiě jué zhè ge wèn tí.
We need to change our way of thinking to solve this problem.
，思路。
Wǒ zhèng xiǎng shuō huà, sī lù jiù bèi dǎ duàn le.
I was about to speak when my train of thought was interrupted.

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.

思sīthought

思 (thought) and 路 (path) combine for the path of thought.

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

囟

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

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

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

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Thinking & Cognition

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