tour guide
HSK level
导游 is written with 18 strokes (导: 6, 游: 12). The animation replays automatically.
导游 (dǎoyóu) most commonly means 'tour guide' — the person who leads travelers around a place, explains the sights, and handles logistics.
It is neutral and everyday, taking the polite measure word 位 for a person. 导游 can also function as a verb meaning 'to guide a tour / to show visitors around,' as in 他给我们导游 (he guided our tour), and occasionally as a noun for a 'guidebook.' The main thing for English speakers: 导游 is one word covering both the human guide and, in context, the act of guiding — you infer which from the sentence.
It differs from 向导 (xiàngdǎo), a 'guide/scout' who leads you through unfamiliar or wild terrain rather than a tourist site. The characters literally read 'lead-travel.'
Character by character
Memory hook: 导 (lead) + 游 (travel) = the person who leads your travels: a tour guide.
我们的导游很热情，讲得也很清楚。
Wǒmen de dǎoyóu hěn rèqíng, jiǎng de yě hěn qīngchu.
Our tour guide was very warm and explained things clearly.
neutral
毕业以后她想当导游。
Bìyè yǐhòu tā xiǎng dāng dǎoyóu.
After graduating she wants to be a tour guide.
spoken
跟着导游走，别走丢了。
Gēnzhe dǎoyóu zǒu, bié zǒudiū le.
Follow the guide, don't get lost.
spoken
这位导游对当地历史非常了解。
Zhè wèi dǎoyóu duì dāngdì lìshǐ fēicháng liǎojiě.
This guide knows the local history very well.
neutral
向导 is a guide who leads you through unfamiliar, often rough terrain (mountains, trails), emphasizing the way. 导游 is specifically a tourism guide at sights and attractions, who also narrates and organizes.
游客 means 'tourist / the visitor being guided.' 导游 is the guide leading them. They are opposite roles that share the character 游.
领导 means 'leader / boss' at work or in an organization. 导游 leads a tour. Both contain 导 (lead) but the contexts are unrelated.
Acquire it by listening
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