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条条

條條
tiáotiáo
noun #31,712

Meanings

  1. 1 each and every one (of long thin things or rules)
  2. 2 every single line / strip / item
  3. 3 (in administration) the vertical bureaucratic chains (cf. 块块, the territorial blocks)

Examples

HSK 5
条条规定都要遵守。
Tiáotiáo guīdìng dōu yào zūnshǒu.
Every single rule must be followed.
HSK 7-9
条条大路通罗马。
Tiáotiáo dàlù tōng Luómǎ.
All roads lead to Rome.

Tips

grammar
Reduplication of the measure word 条 (tiáo, used for long-thin things: roads, fish, rivers, rules). The doubled form 条条 means 'each and every one,' usually followed by the noun: 条条道路 (every road), 条条规定 (every rule). The fixed phrase 条条大路通罗马 is the Chinese rendering of 'All roads lead to Rome.'
usage
Specialist political-science sense: 条条 vs 块块 - 'vertical lines' (ministries reporting up to Beijing) versus 'horizontal blocks' (provincial / local territorial governments). The classic tension in PRC governance: 条块结合 (combining vertical and territorial control).

Stroke Order

条 tiáo