道

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 道に迷った。▶ —
   I got lost on the road.
2. 道を譲ってください。▶ —
   Please yield the way.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Michi (道) is "road / path / way" — a culturally layered cluster (B + cluster). Kanji 道 = "shin (move forward) + shu (head)" = the path taken by the chief or oneself. Dual meaning: (1) literal road / path; (2) life or expertise "way" — sa-dou (tea), ka-dou (flower), ken-dou (sword), juu-dou (judo), sho-dou (calligraphy), kyuu-dou (archery), karate-dou, bushi-dou (samurai), shintou (Shinto) all carry the "-dou" suffix cluster. Cluster: (1) michi ni mayou (lose ones way, metaphorically "no career path"); (2) michi wo yuzuru (yield the way — pedestrian priority, plus extra deference to elderly, pregnant, and children); (3) michi wo kiwameru (master the path — Japans unique "do" spirit of lifelong pursuit, mastery, and completion, fused with shokunin craftsman ethos); (4) jinsei no michi (lifes path); (5) doutoku (morality / public ethics); (6) douro (generic road); (7) bushi-dou (Way of the Samurai, popularized worldwide by Nitobe Inazos 1900 English work). Cultural layering: physical road + spiritual path = lifelong pursuit. Korean gil maps mainly to the physical road; Chinese dao carries Daoist philosophical weight (Laozis "the way that can be told"); Japans michi joins everyday usage with field-specific mastery, making the shokunin "way" unique. JLPT N5 plus a Japanese identity cluster.

Quick check

1. Meaning of Japans -dou suffix cluster?

   • Sa-dou, ka-dou, ken-dou, juu-dou, sho-dou, kyuu-dou, karate-dou, bushi-dou, shintou — names of fields pursued lifelong, the uniquely Japanese "way" cultural code
   • Plain road
   • School subjects
   • Traffic signs