Chinese Blessing 道: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 道 means "path, road, street; method, way" and is pronounced dào. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a wallpaper.
Quick facts
| Character | 道 |
| Pinyin | dào |
| Meaning | path, road, street; method, way |
| Strokes | 12 |
| Radical | ⾡ (No. 162) |
| HSK level | newest-4 |
Words that contain 道
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of | newest-1 |
| 报道 | bào dào | to report (news) | newest-5 |
| 难道 | nán dào | don't tell me ... | newest-4 |
| 味道 | wèi dao | flavor; taste | newest-4 |
| 道路 | dào lù | road | newest-4 |
| 道德 | dào dé | virtue | newest-6 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Size and layout for 道
道 is a dense character — 12 strokes packed into a single square. At phone-wallpaper size the inner strokes start to merge, so give it a larger canvas and more white space around it than you would a simple character. For print, A3 is the safer starting point; A4 only works if the character is the sole subject.
Using 道
道 is used on its own and inside compounds, so context decides which sense is read. Here it carries “path, road, street; method, way”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when someone checks the character. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into shapes that read as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 道 mean?
道 (dào) means “path, road, street; method, way”.
How is 道 pronounced?
道 is pronounced dào in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 道 have?
道 has 12 strokes, under the ⾡ radical (No. 162).
What size should a 道 wallpaper be?
With 12 strokes, 道 is dense — print it at A3 or larger, or pair it with more spacing, so the strokes stay clear.
Which style works for 道?
For a wallpaper, regular script (楷书) stays legible at every size; seal script (篆书) looks classical and works best large; a clean modern layout suits phone and desktop formats.
Is 道 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 道 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-4), and in everyday words such as 知道、报道、难道.
Should I use simplified or traditional 道?
道 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 道 as a ready-to-use wallpaper or print?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this