街道
street; neighborhood
jiēdào
What does 街道 mean?
街道 (jiēdào) means 'street' — the urban road lined with shops and buildings where people live, walk, and do business. It is a slightly more formal and complete word than 街 (jiē) alone; both refer to streets, but 街道 sounds more like a written description or a category, while 街 (or 大街, 'big street/main street') flows more naturally in casual speech. A second meaning to know: in mainland Chinese administrative geography, 街道 names the smallest urban subdivision (a 'subdistrict'), with its own 街道办事处 ('subdistrict office') handling local affairs.
So a Beijing address might reference both the literal street and the administrative 街道 unit. Streets are counted with 条 (tiáo), the measure word for long, linear things: 一条街道 ('a street'). For the entire road network of a city, learners use 街道 in the abstract sense — 北京的街道很宽 ('Beijing's streets are wide').
Note: Slightly more formal than
Character breakdown
street
road; way; path
Memory hook: 街 (street) + 道 (road) = 'street-road' = the full word for street, more complete than 街 alone.
Measure word for 街道
Example sentences
北京的街道很宽。
Běijīng de jiēdào hěn kuān.
Beijing's streets are very wide.
neutral
这条街道上有很多商店。
Zhè tiáo jiēdào shàng yǒu hěn duō shāngdiàn.
There are many shops on this street.
neutral
晚上的街道很安静。
Wǎnshàng de jiēdào hěn ānjìng.
The streets are very quiet at night.
neutral
他住在一条小街道上。
Tā zhù zài yī tiáo xiǎo jiēdào shàng.
He lives on a small street.
spoken
Common phrases with 街道
Synonyms
街 alone is the casual, everyday word for 'street' — 上街 ('go out to the street, go shopping'), 大街 ('main street'). 街道 is more complete and slightly formal, often used when naming or describing streets in general.
马路 ('road, avenue') emphasizes the vehicle road surface — what cars drive on. 街道 emphasizes the whole street as a public urban space with shops and pedestrians. Cross 马路 (cross the road); walk along 街道 (the street).