道
way, road, principle
At a glance · 道
Evolution of the glyph
Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.
Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE
⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.
道字小篆从辵首声，为形声字；本义为道路，引申为道理、学说。甲骨文未见。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
道本义为道路，引申为方法、道理。
Structure
形声字，下部『辵』（辶）为意符表行走，上部『首』为声符。
At a glance
Pinyindào
Radical辶
Strokes13
UnicodeU+9053
Character type形声
Theme其他
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
way, road, principle
Dao is a phonetic-semantic character meaning road and, by extension, the way and principle.
Français
chemin, principe
Dao est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant chemin et, par extension, la voie et le principe.
Español
camino, principio
Dao es un carácter fonosemántico que significa camino y, por extensión, la vía y el principio.
العربية
طريق، مبدأ
داو حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الطريق، ومنه السبيل والمبدأ.
Русский
путь, принцип
Дао — фоносемантический знак, означающий дорогу и, далее, путь и принцип.
Common words
- 道路dào lùroad
- 道理dào lǐreason