门道 (mén dào) — doorway, gateway; (colloquial) knack, trick, method to do something efficiently

Definition

门道 has two distinct senses: literally a doorway or gateway, and colloquially the 'knack' or trick to doing something well. The colloquial sense is far more common in everyday speech.

noun
doorwaygateway(colloquial) knack, trick, method to do something efficiently
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 门道，。
    Zhè ge mén dào hěn zhǎi, zhǐ néng yí gè rén tōng guò.
    This doorway is very narrow — only one person can pass through.
  • 门道，。
    Tā zuò shēng yi hěn yǒu mén dào, suǒ yǐ zǒng shì zhuàn qián.
    He really has the knack for doing business, so he always makes money.
  • ，门道。
    Gāng xué biān chéng shí hěn nán, dàn zhǎo dào mén dào hòu jiù jiǎn dān duō le.
    When you first learn programming it's hard, but once you find the trick it becomes much simpler.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

门méndoor
道dàoway

门 and 道 are door and way, together suggesting an entrance or a way in, hence a knack.

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
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 →

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