Several parts combine into one character.

Compound ideograph: 辶 (the "walking" radical, derived from 辵) + 首 (head, from earlier batches). The encoded image: a head walking forward — the path one's mind takes. From physical road to abstract Way: 道 is THE foundational concept of East Asian philosophy and the namesake of Daoism / Taoism (道教 dàojiào). Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

This character carries the most philosophical weight of any in this entire batch. Lao Tzu's opening of the 道德經 (Dào Dé Jīng) — "道可道,非常道" ("The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao") — uses this character three times with three layered meanings. In English, the character's sense has spread into "the Way of X" — "the way of tea" (茶道 chadō / sadō / tea ceremony), "the way of writing" (書道 shodō / calligraphy), "the way of war" (武道 budō / martial arts).

Mandarin: dào, falling 4th tone. 道路 (dàolù, road), 道理 (dàolǐ, reason / logic), 道德 (dàodé, morality), 道教 (dàojiào, Daoism), 知道 (zhīdào, "to know" — literally "to know the way"), 味道 (wèidào, taste / flavor — neutral final tone), 一道 (yīdào, together — "one path"). The verb 知道 is one of the foundational Mandarin verbs every learner masters; it builds on the metaphor "knowing = knowing the path".

Japanese: on-reading ドウ (dō) — 道路 (dōro, road), 道徳 (dōtoku, morality), 武道 (budō, martial arts), 書道 (shodō, calligraphy), 茶道 (sadō or chadō, tea ceremony), 神道 (Shintō, Japan's indigenous religion — "the way of the gods"), 柔道 (jūdō, "the gentle way"), 剣道 (kendō, "the way of the sword"). The "Way of X" suffix is the basis for nearly every Japanese traditional discipline name. Less common トウ (tō) in 北海道 (Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost prefecture). Kun-reading みち (michi) is the everyday word — 道 (michi, road / path), 道に迷う (michi ni mayou, to lose one's way).

Memory aid: a head walking — the path your mind chooses to take.