Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 導

Level:N2 Low
Strokes:15
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji fundamentally means "to guide," "to lead," "to direct," or "to conduct." It implies showing someone or something the way, steering them towards a specific goal, or facilitating a process. This can be in a literal sense, like leading a person, or in a more abstract sense, like guiding someone's thinking or actions.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ドウ ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): みちび(く) みちび(き)

Usage Examples

⚫︎指導(しどう) Translation: Guidance; instruction; leadership. ⚫︎路(どうろ) Translation: Road; route. ⚫︎(きょうどう) Translation: Teaching; instruction; guiding.

Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is the radical しんにょう(辶), which is a common radical indicating "movement" or "road". The right side is 道(どう), which means "road" or "path". So, the entire kanji signifies "to lead on the road" or "to guide on a path". It originally showed a person leading someone along a path, implying guidance.

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