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门路 (mén lu) — method; knack; way of doing things; (social) connection; pull; access through personal networks

Definition

门路 has two senses: a 'knack/way of doing things' (close to 窍门/诀窍) and, more distinctively in this set, 'social connections/pull' used like 路子 for getting things done through people you know.

noun
methodknackway of doing things(social) connectionpullaccess through personal networks

Examples

  • 门路，。
    Zuò zhè zhòng cài yǒu hěn duō mén lu, xū yào duō liàn xí.
    There are many tricks to making this dish; you need to practice a lot.
  • 门路。
    Tā kào mén lu zhǎo dào le yí gè hǎo gōng zuò.
    He found a good job through his connections.
  • 门路？
    Nǐ zài zhè jiā gōng sī yǒu mén lu ma?
    Do you have any connections in this company?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

门méndoor
路lùroad

'门' door and '路' road together mean a way or social connection.

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 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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