楼道 (lóu dào) — corridor (in a multi-story building); hallway | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The shared hallway on each floor of an apartment or office building, including the entry to each unit. Compared with 走廊 (any corridor, also between rooms), 楼道 is specifically the passageway in a multi-story building.

noun

corridor (in a multi-story building)hallway

Measure word · 条

Examples

楼道。
lóu dào Lǐ liàng zhe dēng.
The light is on in the hallway.
楼道。
Nǐ zài yī lóu lóu dào kǒu děng wǒ ba.
Wait for me at the first-floor hallway entrance.
楼道。
Bú yào zài lóu dào lǐ dǎ qiú.
Don't play ball in the hallway.

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.

楼lóubuilding

道dàopassage

楼 “building” and 道 “passage” combine to mean a passage in a building.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

木婁樓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

婁

婁lóu樓lóu

Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Rooms & Spaces

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