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长途 (cháng tú) — long-distance (attributive, used before nouns like 电话, 旅行, 汽车)

Definition

长途 modifies a trip or transport — physical travel over a long distance (长途汽车, 长途旅行). 远程 is for technology/comms (remote, video call); 长远 is for time, not distance.

adjective
long-distance (attributive, used before nouns like 电话, 旅行, 汽车)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā měi zhōu dōu yào zuò cháng tú qì chē huí jiā.
    He takes a long-distance bus home every week.
  • 长途，。
    Zhè cì cháng tú lǚ xíng suī rán xīn kǔ, dàn shì hěn yǒu qù.
    The long-distance trip is tiring, but it's very interesting.
  • 。
    Wǒ men xū yào dǎ yí gè cháng tú diàn huà gěi gōng sī.
    We need to make a long-distance call to the company.

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.

长chánglong
途túroute

长 'long' and 途 'route' combine to mean a long distance.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú途
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

Open 途 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Travel & Tourism

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