How to write 道 (dào, “road”)
道 (dào), an HSK 1 character, means “road”, “way” and “a skill”. It is also a measure word: CC-CEDICT pairs it with 29 nouns, 偏题, 伤疤 and 光线 among them. As a bottom-left wrap character it splits into 辶 (“walking”, the radical), strokes 10–12; 首 (“head”), strokes 1–9, written the inside first. On its own it is an HSK 4 word; it also forms 知道 (“to know”), 道路 (“road”) and 街道 (“street”). Japanese reads it dou, “road-way”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- dào
- Strokes
- 12
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 辶 (“walking”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- Dot ㇔topdown and right
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top rightdown and right → down and left
- Horizontal ㇐toprightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and right → down and left
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕centerrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottomrightwards
- Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
- Horizontal, turn, turn, left-falling ㇋leftrightwards → downwards
- Right-falling stroke ㇏bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 12 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
道 as a measure word
- 偏题 — to go off-topic
- 伤疤 — scar
- 光线 — light ray
- 命令 — order
- 围墙 — perimeter wall
- 封锁线 — blockade line
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| dào fourth tone | road; path; (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) | — | 知道 道路 街道 难道 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 383 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 道
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 道 | dào | road; path HSK 4 |
| 知道 | zhīdào | to know; to become aware of HSK 1 |
| 道路 | dàolù | road; path HSK 4 |
| 街道 | jiēdào | street; subdistrict HSK 4 |
| 难道 難道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? HSK 4 |
| 味道 | wèidào | flavor; taste HSK 4 |
| 道歉 | dàoqiàn | to apologize HSK 4 |
| 跑道 | pǎodào | athletic track; track HSK 5 |
| 报道 報道 | bàodào | to report (news); report HSK 5 |
| 道理 | dàolǐ | reason; argument HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: