道
Meanings
- road; path (Classifier: 條 tiáo, 股 gǔ)
- (bound form) way; reason; principle
- (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization
- (Daoism) the Way; the Dao
- to say (introducing a direct quotation, as in a novel)
- (bound form) to express; to extend (polite words)
- classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks, shadows etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc), commands, courses in a meal, steps in a process
- (old) circuit (administrative division)
Characters in this entry
- 道
- dào · path, road, street; method, way
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4 · dao4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Sentences in context
Exact source-spelling matches. Open the reader for dictionary lookups, construction notes and related examples. Occurrence does not establish a particular dictionary sense.
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
dou3 · dou6
Cantonese word readings for 道. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- a path or course along which something moves, flows or extends
- (historical) an administrative division called a dao
- (historical) an administrative division called a dao — a Korean province
- (historical) an administrative division called a dao — a Japanese prefectural-level division
- a way, method, means, skill or field of practice
- a principle, law, pattern or proper order; morality or good government
- (philosophy, Taoism) the Way; the Dao; the Tao
- a doctrine, teaching, school, sect or system of thought
- (Buddhism) a path of practice; Buddhist teaching, attainment or a realm of rebirth
- (Christianity) the Logos; the Word
- to say, speak, tell or relate, to express
- to think, suppose or take to be
- (suffix) forming nouns denoting a quality, flavour, manner or feel
- Classifier for long, narrow or streak-like things.
- Classifier for doors, gates, walls, barriers and similar structures.
- Classifier for courses in a meal: dish
- Classifier for questions, orders, proclamations and similar texts.
character
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese, literary) to lead, guide, direct or set on a course; now usually written 導 /导 (dǎo)
- (literary) from; via; by way of
- (literary, rare) to flatter; to curry favour
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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