Definition
道 (dào) as a noun means 'road, path' — more general than 线路 (xiànlù, a specific route or line). It also means 'principle, morality' — broader than 理 (lǐ, reason/logic) and distinct from 道德 (dàodé, ethics/morality). As a classifier, it counts long thin things, barriers, dishes, exam questions, etc.
noun
roadpathprinciplemoralitymethodskillthe Dao (of Daoism)
classifier
for long thin thingsbarrierscourses of a mealsteps of a processexam questionsetc.
Measure word · 条, 股
Easily confused
- 首shǒulook-alike(classifier) for songs, poems, and pieces of music
- 到dàosound-alike(verb) to arrive at, to reach (a place or time)
- 倒dǎosound-alike(verb) to fall, to topple over
- 倒dǎosound-aliketo fall, to topple (physically)
- 岛dǎosound-alikeisland
- 刀dāosound-alikeknife; blade
- 盗dàosound-aliketo steal, to rob, to plunder (formal; often used in compounds)
Examples
- 道，。Zhè tiáo dào hěn zhǎi, zhǐ néng zǒu yí gè rén.This path is very narrow—only one person can walk.
- 。Tā shuō de dàolǐ wǒ bù tài dǒng.I don't really understand the reasoning he talked about.
- 道。Zhè shì jīntiān de dì yī dào cài.This is the first dish of today.
Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.