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过道 (guò dào) — corridor, aisle, passageway

Definition

过道 (guò dào) means 'passageway' — a narrow walkway between seats or rooms, as on a plane or between buildings. Think 'aisle' more than 走廊 (a building hallway).

noun
corridoraislepassageway
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • ，。
    Qǐng zǒu guò dào, bú yào zǒu lóu tī.
    Please take the corridor, don't take the stairs.
  • 过道。
    guò dào Liǎng biān yǒu hěn duō fáng jiān.
    There are many rooms on both sides of the corridor.
  • 过道。
    Fēi jī shàng de guò dào hěn zhǎi.
    The aisle on the plane is very narrow.

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.

过guòpass
道dàoroad

过 describes the purpose of the 道, a road meant for passing, so the word means a passageway.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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.

Open 道 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Rooms & Spaces

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