路
road; route; way
lù
What does 路 mean?
路 (lù) means 'road,' 'route,' or 'way' in both literal and figurative senses. Literally it covers any street or path you walk or drive on — 大路 (a main road), 小路 (a small path), 一条路 (one road, with measure word 条). It also names bus routes (一路 / 二路 公交车 = bus route 1, route 2) and appears in many street names (长安路 'Chang'an Road'). Figuratively, 路 is the way to do something or the path through life: 走自己的路 ('walk your own road'), 找工作的路 ('the road to finding a job'). Two useful pairings: 走路 (zǒu lù) means 'to walk' as a verb-object phrase; 路上 (lù shang) means 'on the way / during the trip.' Common collocation 问路 means 'ask for directions.'
Character breakdown
road, route (足 'foot' radical on the left + 各 phonetic on the right)
Memory hook: The 足 (foot) radical on the left is the clue — a road is what feet travel on.
Measure word for 路
Example sentences
这条路很长。
Zhè tiáo lù hěn cháng.
This road is very long.
neutral
我每天走路去学校。
Wǒ měi tiān zǒu lù qù xuéxiào.
I walk to school every day.
spoken
请问，去医院的路怎么走？
Qǐng wèn, qù yīyuàn de lù zěnme zǒu?
Excuse me, how do I get to the hospital?
spoken, polite
路上小心。
Lù shang xiǎoxīn.
Be careful on the way.
spoken
他不认识路。
Tā bú rènshi lù.
He doesn't know the way.
spoken
Common phrases with 路
Synonyms
马路 specifically means a street or main road wide enough for cars — what you cross at a crosswalk. 路 is the general word and can also mean a country path, a route, or a figurative way.
街 means 'street' as a place where people walk and shops line up — 上街 means 'go out shopping/strolling.' 路 is more about the road as a passage from A to B.
道路 is a slightly more formal/written compound meaning 'road' or 'roadway,' often in news or official text. 路 is the everyday spoken word.
Don't confuse 路 with
陆 (lù) means 'land' (as opposed to sea) and appears in 大陆 'mainland.' Same pinyin and tone as 路 but completely different character and meaning.
录 (lù) means 'to record' (as in 录音 'record audio'). Identical pronunciation but unrelated to roads.
略 looks similar (shares the 各 component) but means 'slightly' or 'omit.' Different pronunciation and meaning.