Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
道dàoroad; path 条,股)
首head · shǒuSound part
辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part
辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 首 (shǒu) hints at the sound. Compare it with dào.
Memory aidPicture walking 辶 with your head 首 leading the way: a road, a way.
歉qiànto apologise
兼both · jiānSound part
欠yawn · qiànMeaning part
欠 hints at the meaning (yawn); 兼 (jiān) hints at the sound. Compare it with qiàn.
How to write 道歉
道 12 strokes · 歉 14 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 道歉 (dàoqiàn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
道歉 (dàoqiàn) means “to apologise”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it dàoqiàn: dào with a 4th tone, then qiàn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 道歉 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type daoqian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 道歉 from the suggestions. Typing daoqian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
道歉 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
道dào4th tone, falling
