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老路 (lǎo lù) — old road; beaten track; the same old way (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'old road', but at HSK 7 it usually means the figurative 'beaten track' — the same old way of doing things. Pairs with 走 (走老路) to mean sticking to old habits.

noun
old roadbeaten trackthe same old way (figurative)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 老路。
    Zhè tiáo lǎo lù yǐ jīng hěn jiǔ méi rén zǒu le.
    This old road hasn't been used for a long time.
  • ，。
    Wǒ men bù néng zǒu lǎo lù, yào chuàng xīn.
    We can't follow the beaten track; we need to innovate.
  • ，。
    Tā zǒng ài zǒu lǎo lù, bú yuàn yì cháng shì xīn fāng fǎ.
    He always likes to take the old path and is unwilling to try new methods.

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.

老lǎoold
路lùroad

The 老 sense of old combines with 路 (road) to mean an old road or a familiar way.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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
足足zú
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.

Open 路 →
Appears in
Roads & Traffic

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