道口 (dào kǒu) — road junction; level crossing

Definition

noun

road junctionlevel crossing

Measure word · 个

道口。
Zhè ge dào kǒu jīng cháng fā shēng jiāo tōng shì gù.
This junction often has traffic accidents.
道口，。
Huǒ chē jīng guò dào kǒu shí, yí dìng yào xiǎo xīn.
When the train passes the level crossing, you must be careful.
道口，。
Qián fāng yǒu yí gè dào kǒu, qǐng jiǎn sù.
There is a junction ahead, please slow down.

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.

道 means road and 口 means opening or junction, so the sense is a road junction or crossing.

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

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.

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Appears in