道

dàodictionary entry

road; path (CL:條|条[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)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-3311d6a4a1747952. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

道 道 [dao4] /road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3])/(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)/

Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.