甬道 (yǒng dào) — covered corridor (within walls); central vestib…

Definition

noun

covered corridor (within walls)central vestibule in a hall

Measure word · 条

甬道。
Zhè zuò gōng diàn de yǒng dào hěn cháng.
The corridor of this palace is very long.
甬道。
Tā men chuān guò yǒng dào jìn rù le dà tīng.
They passed through the corridor and entered the hall.
甬道。
Gǔ dài de yǒng dào tōng cháng yǒu wū dǐng.
Ancient corridors usually had roofs.

Characters in this word

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

The old form pictured a bronze bell. The lower part of 甬 comes from that bell’s lower section.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𩠐

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.