路 (lù): road

Measure Word

一条路 tiáo

Meanings

1 road
2 path
3 route

Characters

路

lù

road; path

足 (foot) + 各 (each) — where each foot has walked

Examples

这条路很长。

Zhè tiáo lù hěn cháng.

This road is very long.

你知道去学校的路吗？

Nǐ zhīdào qù xuéxiào de lù ma?

Do you know the way to school?

Tips

usage

路 is also used for bus routes: 1路公共汽车 (Bus Route 1). In addresses, 路 means 'road': 南京路 (Nanjing Road).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot; leg (radical)

Left radical 足 — a foot drawn with the calf above and the toes below. Marks 路 as something walked on by feet: a road, path, route. Same radical drives the leg-verb family 跑 (run), 跳 (jump), 跪 (kneel), 踢 (kick), 跟 (follow). When 足 sits on the left it compresses slightly while keeping all seven strokes.

phonetic

各 gè

each; every (phonetic)

Right phonetic 各 supplies most of the sound (gè → lù, a related velar reading from older Chinese) and a faint semantic flavour: 'each one going their own way'. Roads are precisely where each person heads to a different destination. Same phonetic appears in 客 (guest), 络 (net), 落 (fall) — all the gè/luò sound family.