跑道 (pǎo dào) — athletic track; runway (for aircraft) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

跑道 is the physical surface you run on — an athletic track or an airport runway. Among siblings, 轨道 is the rail track trains ride on; 足迹 and 轨迹 are figurative 'tracks' (footprints, trajectories), not physical surfaces.

noun

athletic trackrunway (for aircraft)

Measure word · 条

Examples

跑道。
Yùn dòng yuán zài pǎo dào shàng pǎo bù.
Athletes run on the track.
跑道。
Zhè jià fēi jī zài pǎo dào shàng qǐ fēi.
This plane takes off on the runway.
跑道。
Xué xiào xīn xiū le yì tiáo pǎo dào.
The school built a new track.

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.

跑 “run” and 道 “path” combine to name a track or runway.

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

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

包

包bāo跑pǎo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

跑 combines 足, showing a foot, with 包, which gives 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

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 5 Air Travel Sports & Athletics

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