Chinese word

绕路

Pronunciation

Pinyinrào lù

Meaning

  • verbtake a detour

Example

下雨了，我们别绕路，还是走近路吧。xià yǔ le wǒ men bié rào lù hái shì zǒu jìn lù ba

It's raining, so let's not take a detour; let's take the shorter route instead.

Illustration for 绕路 (take a detour)

More examples

地铁临时停运，大家只好绕路回家。dì tiě lín shí tíng yùn dà jiā zhí hǎo rào lù huí jiā

The subway has temporarily stopped running, so everyone had to take a detour home.

Core concept

A route bends away from the straight path and uses another way before reaching the destination.

Common phrases

  • 别绕路bié rào lù

    don't take a detour

  • 绕路回家rào lù huí jiā

    take a detour home

  • 绕路行驶rào lù xíng shǐ

    take a detour while driving

Similar words

绕道rào dào: Reaching a destination by making a detour from the normal route.
改道gǎi dào: Switching to a different road or path from the one first planned.
绕过rào guò: Avoiding an obstacle or person by moving around it.

Definition in Chinese

指在行走或行驶时，有时为避开拥堵或寻找更顺畅路线而主动改道，有时因施工或障碍被迫改走更远的道路，总之比直线或最近路线多走路程或耗时。zhǐ zài xíng zǒu huò xíng shǐ shí yǒu shí wèi bì kāi yōng dǔ huò xún zhǎo gèng shùn chàng lù xiàn ér zhǔ dòng gǎi dào yǒu shí yīn shī gōng huò zhàng ài bèi pò gǎi zǒu gèng yuǎn de dào lù zǒng zhī bǐ zhí xiàn huò zuì jìn lù xiàn duō zǒu lù chéng huò hào shí

Word origin

The word joins 绕 (rào, "go around") with 路 (lù, "road"), so its literal structure makes a road that goes around something easy to picture.

Usage tips

  • The word focuses on the route taken, not on the reason for it; traffic, construction, a closed road, or a personal choice can all provide the context.

Other meanings

  • roundabout routenoun

Opposites

  • 走近路zǒu jìn lùtake a shortcutverb
  • 抄近路chāo jìn lùtake a shortcutverb

Word lists with this word