In modern Chinese, 阴道 refers primarily to the vagina (the female reproductive organ). The characters 阴 (shade, yin) and 道 (road, way) literally mean 'shaded road', and the word has historical meanings in classical Chinese philosophy: the 'way of inferiors' (a concept of subordination) and in Daoist texts, the 'art of love' (the way of yin). Learners should be aware that in everyday conversation, the anatomical sense is the only common usage.