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

Tiáotiáo dàlù tōng Luómǎ.
All roads lead to Rome.
Tiáotiáo guīdìng dōu yào zūnshǒu.
Every single rule must be followed.

Tips

grammar
Reduplication of the measure word (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 条条大路罗马 is the Chinese rendering of "All roads lead to Rome."
usage
Specialist political-science sense: 条条 vs — "vertical lines" (ministries reporting up to Beijing) versus "horizontal blocks" (provincial / local territorial governments). The classic tension in PRC governance: 结合 (combining vertical and territorial control).

Stroke Order

tiáo