Several parts combine into one character.

路 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 足 (foot) + 各 (gè, "each / every" — providing the sound). The composite reads as "the path that the feet take" = road, way, route. CJK languages distinguish three related characters of "way" with subtle differentiation: 街 (jiē, busy commercial street where many gather), 道 (dào, major road / way / philosophical Way), and 路 (lù, ordinary road that one walks). Each captures a different aspect of human passage.

Korean reading "ro" (or "no" word-initially). 道路 (doro, road — universal Korean traffic vocabulary), 路線 (noseon, route / line — bus and subway lines), 航路 (hangro, sea route / airline route), 迷路 (miro, maze / labyrinth — used metaphorically: "to fall into a labyrinth"), 歸路 (gwiro, "returning road" = the way home), 岐路 (giro, "branching road" = crossroads / decisive moment). Korean idioms about life decisions often use 기로.

Mandarin lù, 4th tone. 路 (lù), 马路 (mǎlù, "horse-road" = main avenue — historical reference to roads measured by horse traffic, now applied to all major streets), 走路 (zǒulù, "to walk the road" = to walk — basic verb in Mandarin, where Korean uses 걷다 and Japanese uses 歩く), 一路 (yīlù, "one road" = "all the way / throughout" — used in farewell phrases: 一路平安 yīlù píng'ān "have a safe journey"), 铁路 (tiělù, "iron-road" = railroad), 高速公路 (gāosù gōnglù, expressway).

Japanese on-reading ロ (ro) — 道路 (dōro, road), 路線 (rosen, route — used for transit lines: 山手線 has its own rosen designation), 航路 (kōro, sea / air route). Kun-reading じ (ji) appears in compounds: 旅路 (tabiji, journey — poetic), 夜道 (yomichi, night road — though this is technically with 道, similar usage). Japan's expressway names use 路 prominently: 東名高速道路 (Tōmei Kōsoku Dōro, Tōmei Expressway connecting Tokyo and Nagoya), 中央高速道路 (Chūō Kōsoku Dōro). Japanese road infrastructure vocabulary depends heavily on 路.

Memory aid: feet (足) plus 各 (sound) — what each foot finds underway = a road. Distinct from 街 (commerce) and 道 (Way / philosophy).