黑道 (hēidào): criminal underworld

Meanings

Tā niánqīng de shíhou hùn guo hēidào.

He was involved in the underworld when he was young.

Zhè bù diànyǐng jiǎng de shì hēidào de gùshi.

This movie is about organized crime.

Jǐngfāng zhèngzài dǎjī hēidào shìlì.

The police are cracking down on criminal organizations.

usage

黑道 is contrasted with 白道 (báidào, 'the legal/legitimate side'). Together 黑白两道 means 'both the underworld and legitimate society.'

memory

黑 (black) = dark, hidden, illegal. 道 (road/way) = a path or world. The 'dark road' = the criminal underworld.

黑 hēi

道 dào