See How Fast You Can Learn Chinese
Try our interactive spaced repetition demo—study your first words in 60 seconds
Studying for the HSK? Don't like subscriptions? Try our one-time HSK Study Access package for $9.99 (PPP available).
道
Sign in to save this word to your study lists.
Definitions
- 1. road
- 2. path
- 3. principle
- 4. truth
- 5. morality
- 6. reason
- 7. skill
- 8. method
- 9. Dao (of Daoism)
- 10. to say
- 11. to speak
- 12. to talk
- 13. classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc), commands, courses in a meal, steps in a process
Example Sentences
1 shown現在,他們知 道 我們在這裏。
Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org.
Words Containing 道
lit. persons who walk different paths cannot make plans together
kind and honest
lit. to ask a blind man the way (idiom)
pedestrian underpass
photojournalist
virtue
one word says it all (idiom)
lit. you hit the high road, I'll cross the log bridge (idiom)
General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), US commander in Pacific during WW2, sacked in 1951 by President Truman for exceeding orders during the Korean war
lit. cries of complaint fill the roads (idiom); complaints rise all around
to oppress
Tongdao Dong autonomous county in Huaihua 懷化|怀化[huái huà], Hunan
traditionalist
to congratulate
road roller
street cleaner
to obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo
gossip; hearsay; rumor
to revere the master and his teaching
Dow Jones (stock market index)
Ecclesiastes (biblical book of sermons)
rampant
mission
(astronomy) the ecliptic
to practice Daoism
traffic passage
fire exit
to send into orbit
OK!
bile duct
Dow Jones (stock market index)
major road
an unjust cause finds little support (idiom, from Mencius)
while the connoisseur recognizes the artistry, the layman simply enjoys the show
crosswalk
Lanzhou-Zhengzhou-Changsha oil pipeline
moving walkway
Methodism
road construction
street
Tsung-Dao Lee (1926-), Chinese American physicist, Columbia University, 1957 Nobel laureate
Daoist
like-minded (idiom)
path for the visually impaired (made with tactile paving)
penis
highway
a narrow street (lined with walls)
Taoist or Buddhist rite
disgraceful (of behavior that is unfilial, rebellious or otherwise in grave breach of the norms of society)
host
Daoli district of Harbin 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[hā ěr bīn] in Heilongjiang
to change route
to achieve the Dao
Erdaojiang district of Tonghua city 通化市, Jilin
doctrine of the mean
karate
South P'yong'an Province in west of North Korea
to apologize
water slide
according to a report
sewer
flue
Badaojiang district in Baishan city 白山市, Jilin
fortune
boulevard
press report
railroad switch
to start one's career
the gateway to the ghost world
to kidnap
elevated road
appearing to be praising others while actually praising yourself
same principle
female external genitalia (anatomy)
voice (communications) channel
ancient road
order (of monks)
Erdao district of Changchun city 長春市|长春市, Jilin
lit. to go straight (idiom, from Analects); to act with integrity
lit. to discuss sb's merits and demerits (idiom); to gossip
sinus (anatomy)
lit. to discuss sb's merits and demerits (idiom); to gossip
Republic of Andorra
race course
(theater) hand prop (wine glass, pistol etc)
entering the Way, you seem to coil back (Laozi 老子[lǎo zǐ], the Book of Dao 道德經|道德经[dào dé jīng], Chap. 14)
see 問道於盲|问道于盲[wèn dào yú máng]
to make a detour
Jeju island special autonomous province, South Korea, a World Heritage site
railway line
birth canal (in obstetrics)
to take a shortcut
mine shaft
comprehensive report
sidewalk
fellow-traveler
to commend
Zoroastrianism
protective passageway
subdistrict office
arterial road
starved corpses fill the roads (idiom); state of famine
a road only a bird can manage
Andorra la Vella, capital of Andorra
mountain of Dao, sea of learning (idiom); learning is as high as the mountains, as wide as the seas
familiar road
Daoist priest
see 近地軌道|近地轨道[jìn dì guǐ dào]
the correct path
as they say, ...
the eight provinces of Yi dynasty Korea
lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)
hearsay
natural law
to come down in the world (idiom)
tunnel
Taoist priest
Confucian study of ethics
Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, surrounding Seoul and Incheon, capital Suweon City 水原市[shuǐ yuán shì]
to overtake on a bend (driving)
path
Erdao district of Changchun city 長春市|长春市, Jilin
inhuman
acupuncture point
Andorra
God knows...
to line the streets in welcome
Dalton (name)
to enter the Way
gastric bypass
plank walkway constructed on the face of a cliff
to rebel against orthodoxy
also called 四諦|四谛[sì dì]
to reach illumination (Buddhism)
abbot
former Hwanghae Province of northwest Korea, divided into North and South Hwanghae Province of North Korea in 1954
spoken lines in opera
Hamgyeong Province of Joseon dynasty Korea, now divided into North Hamgyeong Province 咸鏡北道|咸镜北道[xián jìng běi dào] and South Hamgyeong Province 咸鏡南道|咸镜南道[xián jìng nán dào] of North Korea
Daoist School of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), based on the teachings of Laozi or Lao-tze 老子[lǎo zǐ] (c. 500 BC-) and Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[zhuāng zǐ] (369-286 BC)
to lecture on doctrine
Tongdao Dong autonomous county in Huaihua 懷化|怀化[huái huà], Hunan
to come from far away
pipeline transport
vagina
inhuman (idiom)
ballistic missile
the teaching of Confucius and Mencius
present the facts and reason things out
Wang Daohan (1915-2005), former president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits
aikido (Japanese martial art)
neo Catechumenal way
Common Gateway Interface
P'yong'ando Province of Joseon Korea, now divided into South Pyong'an Province 平安南道[píng ān nán dào] and North Pyong'an Province 平安北道[píng ān běi dào] of North Korea
twining mountain road
the ways of the world
Daoyuan (Sanctuary of the Dao)
words of truth
internal auditory meatus (canal in temporal bone of skull housing auditory nerves)
to do the very opposite
flavor
Shinto (Japanese religion)
moral bankruptcy
absolutely fair and reasonable (idiom); equitable
judo
justice
(telecommunications) channel
Hur Jun (TV series)
Daowai district of Harbin 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[hā ěr bīn] in Heilongjiang
to be proficient in the area of
to shout (i.e. to say in a loud voice) (usually followed by the words shouted)
to take delight in talking about sth
kendō (sports)
communications channel
Jeet Kun Do or Way of the Intercepting Fist, a fusion of Eastern and Western martial arts led by Bruce Lee 李小龍|李小龙[lǐ xiǎo lóng]
equatorial rain forest
walking path
archway
Heaven rewards the diligent. (idiom)
to ask the way
taekwondo (Korean martial art)
lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
Erdaojiang district of Tonghua city 通化市, Jilin
urinogenital tract
If sb has grasped the truth before you, take him as your teacher (Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu 韓愈|韩愈[hán yù]).
to chat about this and that
sound track
can talk really well (idiom); the gift of the gab
pavement
on-the-spot report
(railway) ballast
to have attained the Way
to speak
costume
lunar orbit
Daozhen Klau and Hmong autonomous county in Zunyi 遵義|遵义[zūn yì], northeast Guizhou
monastery
reason
lit. there are principles behind making money (idiom); fig. to have a knack for good business
anchor lift (ski-lift)
human sympathy
North P'yong'an Province in west of North Korea, adjacent to Liaoning
manned orbiting space station
to be content with poverty and strive for virtue (idiom)
crosswalk; pedestrian crossing
equator (of the earth or a celestial body)
moral high ground
to make sense; reasonable
see 亂說|乱说[luàn shuō]
taxiway (at airport)
to change lanes
nunchaku martial arts
waterway
Didao district of Jixi city 雞西|鸡西[jī xī], Heilongjiang
lit. cries of complaint fill the roads (idiom); complaints rise all around
sanctimonious
not worth mentioning
walled-in path
major principle
light rail
irrigation ditch
firebreak
moral cognition
tunnel
Taoist robe
ropeway
first time
Daoist temple
the Qinling plank road to Shu, a historical mountain road from Shaanxi to Sichuan
via
to discuss
Dhaulagiri, mountain massif in the Himalayas
Düsseldorf (Germany)
a heavy load and a long road
morality
inconsiderable
strength
Ryanggang province province in north North Korea, adjacent to Jilin province
a Daoist
passageway
to preach
lit. repair the plank road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[wèi hé] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[liú bāng] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[xiàng yǔ] of Chu)
public morality; social ethics
side road
to come into contact with
urethra
together
Confucian orthodoxy
lamentations fill the roads (idiom); severe suffering all around
(lit.) the road through Yangguan 陽關|阳关[yáng guān]
to talk nonsense (idiom); saying whatever comes into his head
on the way
to yell
(idiom) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil; no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises
Chen Zaidao (1909-1993), general in the People's Liberation Army
Gyeongsang Province of Joseon Korea, now divided into North Gyeongsang Province 慶尚北道|庆尚北道[qìng shàng běi dào] and South Gyeongsang Province 慶尚南道|庆尚南道[qìng shàng nán dào]
poor Taoist
compassion, duty, propriety and integrity (idiom); all the traditional virtues
to stick to one's ways
to run in the opposite direction (idiom); to run counter to
freeway ramp
religious investigator
Yuan Hongdao (1568-1610), Ming dynasty poet and travel writer
celestial equator
aerial ropeway
the eight stages of the Buddha's life (Buddhism)
Ministry of Railways (MOR), disbanded in 2013 with its regulatory functions taken over by the Ministry of Transport 交通運輸部|交通运输部[jiāo tōng yùn shū bù]
(bird species of China) meadow bunting (Emberiza cioides)
see 十二宮|十二宫[shí èr gōng]
no use to tell others
North Hamgyeong Province in northeast of North Korea, capital Chongjin 清津市[qīng jīn shì]
Wudaokou neighborhood of Beijing
slow lane
to die for a just cause
negligible; insignificant
authentic
circular orbit (in astronomy and in astronautics)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), British novelist and author of Brave New World 美麗新世界|美丽新世界[měi lì xīn shì jiè]
main street
kindred spirit
when all is said and done
original path
to be not worth mentioning
a crime against humanity
the Way of the Hegemon
opening providing access
to clean the street
boulevard
santonin (loanword)
Lanzhou-Zhengzhou-Changsha oil pipeline
pile trestle
progress seems like regress (the Book of Dao 道德經|道德经[dào dé jīng], Chpt. 41)
Yakuza (Japanese mafia)
to clear a street by banging gongs and shouting loudly (idiom)
Daozhen Klau and Hmong Autonomous County in Zunyi 遵義|遵义[zūn yì], northeast Guizhou
esophageal cancer
in the middle of the road
watercourse (river, canal, drain etc)
Daoli district of Harbin 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[hā ěr bīn] in Heilongjiang
North Jeolla Province, in west South Korea, capital Jeonju 全州[quán zhōu]
normal and proper practice
Baidu Knows, online Q & A forum, zhidao.baidu.com
railroad switch
(fig.) channel of communication
doorway
to fill the road (also fig. clamor, cries of complaint)
The Sopranos (US TV series)
friar; frater
main channel
pavement
fairway (golf)
dark road
humanitarian aid
Daowai district of Harbin 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[hā ěr bīn] in Heilongjiang
bike path; bicycle trail; bike lane
fast lane
trolley for inspecting rail track
sermon
Dao county in Yongzhou 永州[yǒng zhōu], Hunan
respiratory tract
South Jeolla Province, in southwest South Korea, capital Gwangju 光州[guāng zhōu]
abbey
tactile paving tile
the Way of the King
Equatorial Guinea
metro
humanism
upper respiratory tract infection
road on a slope; inclined path; ramp
corridor
track (for trains etc)
pointsman
(literary) to lose one's way; to get lost
abbot
esophagus
filial piety (Confucian virtue)
orbiting space station
path leading to a grave
coprodeum (in birds)
missionary
to go by a roundabout route
low Earth orbit (LEO)
lit. praise fills the roads (idiom); praise everywhere
to enumerate what is black and yellow (idiom); to criticize sb behind his back to incite quarrels
tubing
prop (theater)
to clear the way
intestines
to express thanks
digestive tract
river course
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), author of the Sherlock Holmes stories 歇洛克·福爾摩斯|歇洛克·福尔摩斯
underpass
one-way street
orbital module
to make thoughtless remarks (idiom)
thoroughgoing
plicae palmatae canalis cervicis uteri
the Way of the Hegemon
bushidō or way of the warrior, samurai code of chivalry
equatorial counter current
Way of the Five Pecks of Rice (Taoist movement)
external auditory meatus
way of life
clear and logical
via
such matters
the way to do sth
to say goodbye; to bid farewell
McDonnell Douglas (plane company)
(theater) personal prop (spectacles, fan etc)
reign name of Qing emperor (1821-1850)
see 林蔭道|林荫道[lín yìn dào]
North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, capital Cheongju 清州市
shortcut
Chagang province, in the north of North Korea
If sb has grasped the truth before you, take him as your teacher (Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu 韓愈|韩愈[hán yù]).
to scout
Qing Dynasty General Supervisory and Military Command
route for providing foodstuff
Badaojiang district in Baishan city 白山市, Jilin
host
road
to use claims to kinship or friendship to climb socially (idiom)
news from the grapevine
bypath
equatorial counter current
woman (derog.)
starved corpses fill the roads (idiom); state of famine
Elbegdorj Tsakhia or Tsakhia-giin Elbegdorj (1963-), Mongolian US educated Democratic Party politician, president of Mongolia from 2009
skills acquired through religious practice
winding road
groove
Taoism
roadway
the true way
South Chungcheong Province, South Korea, capital Daejeon 大田[dà tián]
Daoist scripture
(theater) set dressing
Taoist devotee (honorific)
Daozhen Klau and Hmong autonomous county in Zunyi 遵義|遵义[zūn yì], northeast Guizhou
equatorial mount (for a telescope)
Didao district of Jixi city 雞西|鸡西[jī xī], Heilongjiang
ski-lift
If I had known earlier...
don't tell me ...
Taokas, one of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan
to know; to become aware of
Daoguang Emperor
the way of maintaining good health
fast lane
same as 陽關大道|阳关大道[yáng guān dà dào]
national highway
road as twisty as sheep's intestine (idiom); narrow and winding road
see 林陰大道|林阴大道[lín yīn dà dào]
to delude the masses with heretical doctrines (idiom)
the way of former kings
on the aisle (referring to seats on a plane etc)
Dawu county (Tibetan: rta 'u rdzong) in Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture 甘孜藏族自治州[gān zī zàng zú zì zhì zhōu], Sichuan (formerly in Kham province of Tibet)
handsome high-powered businessman (a type of character in an eponymous genre of romantic fiction who typically has a soft spot for a girl of lower social status)
North Hwanghae Province of west North Korea
Dodge, US automobile brand, division of Chrysler LLC
(theater) set prop (desk, chairs etc)
Dawu county (Tibetan: rta 'u rdzong) in Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture 甘孜藏族自治州[gān zī zàng zú zì zhì zhōu], Sichuan (formerly in Kham province of Tibet)
Tang soo do (Korean martial art)
South Gyeongsang Province, in southeast South Korea, capital Changwon 昌原[chāng yuán]
to stay on track
wound track (the path of a bullet through the body)
fair
More moral strength increases one's safety, more power and influence increases one's danger (idiom, from Records of the Historian 史記|史记). cf Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it (William Pitt the Elder, 1770).
don't tell me ...
a vicious tyranny rules the land
dishonest practices
Gangwon Province of Korea during Joseon Dynasty
to teach (idiom); lit. to give moral and practical instruction
(Ming and Qing dynasties) daotai (title for an official responsible for supervising a circuit 道|道[dào]), aka taotai and circuit intendant
railroad switch
Dow Jones Industrial Average
to call
to expose
tyrannical
frequency
odd
Douglas (name)
curb
dissenting religious sect (idiom); heretical school of opinion
South Hamgyeong Province of east North Korea
vice
to report (news)
depraved life
no wonder!
towpath (along a canal)
middleman
to defend traditional values
intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM
immoral
yakuza
crime against humanity
to be too petty or insignificant to mention
North Gyeongsang Province, in east South Korea, capital Daegu 大邱[dà qiū]
to preach (the gospel)
(slang, coined c. 2017, contrasted with 佛系[fó xì]) Dao-type, a type of person who has traits associated with a Daoist approach to life, such as being active, optimistic, earthy and forthright
Tongdao Dong Autonomous County in Huaihua 懷化|怀化[huái huà], Hunan
secret passage; secret tunnel
Daoist nun
vaginal infection
digestive tract
lit. ask passers-by how to build one's house (idiom); fig. to have no idea what to do
parkour (HK)
lit. devil's gate, crooked path (idiom); corrupt practices
pedestrian crossing
trajectory (of a projectile); ballistic curve
to set off
convent
to state
ethical dilemma
Huarong Road (traditional puzzle involving sliding wooden blocks, loosely based on an episode in Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[sān guó yǎn yì])
to congratulate
lit. no one picks up lost articles in the street (idiom)
the Book of Dao by Laozi or Lao-Tze, the sacred text of Daoism
outflow channel
to play tricks on
Chungcheong Province of Joseon Korea, now divided into North Chungcheong province 忠清北道[zhōng qīng běi dào] and South Chungcheong province 忠清南道[zhōng qīng nán dào] of South Korea
authentic
to go home (in a ceremonial procession)
level crossing
lit. praise fills the roads (idiom); praise everywhere
athletic track
to discuss sth enthusiastically
Jeolla or Cholla Province of Joseon Korea, now divided into North Jeolla Province 全羅北道|全罗北道[quán luó běi dào] and South Jeolla Province 全羅南道|全罗南道[quán luó nán dào]
who would have thought that ...?
transport channel
South Hwanghae Province of west North Korea
carpool lane
to beat the gong to clear the way
carpal tunnel syndrome (pain in the hands due to pressure on the median nerve)
synthetic athletics track
Japanese tea ceremony
to talk rubbish
lit. bystanders killed the king's horse (idiom) (based on an ancient story in which people along the road cheered a horseman on as he galloped past, until the horse died of exhaustion)
to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹[zhū xī])
gastrointestinal tract
A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little (idiom, from Mencius)
Bodhimanda (place of enlightenment associated with a Bodhisattva)
family financial circumstances
Earth orbit (orbit of a satellite around the Earth)
to be ungenerous
traffic lane
Hokkaidō, Japan
broad and open road (idiom); fig. brilliant future prospects
runway (at airport)