管道

• Pinyin: guǎn dào
• Hanzi breakdown: 管 = 竹 (bamboo) + 官 (official, phonetic), referring to bamboo tubes; 道 = 辶 (walk) + 首 (head), meaning way or path

Meaning

Pipeline; pipe; conduit. A tube or channel through which fluids or gases are transported.

Used for physical pipes (water, gas, oil pipelines) and metaphorically for channels of communication or distribution. Common collocations: 天然气管道 (natural gas pipeline), 输油管道 (oil pipeline), 销售管道 (sales channel). The metaphorical usage is increasingly common in business contexts for distribution channels.

Examples

1. 这条跨国天然气管道的建设将大大改善两国的能源合作关系。 The construction of this transnational natural gas pipeline will greatly improve energy cooperation between the two countries.
2. 老旧小区的自来水管道严重老化，政府决定全面更换。 The water pipes in the old residential area have seriously deteriorated, and the government has decided to replace them entirely.
3. 公司正在开拓新的销售管道，希望把产品打入东南亚市场。 The company is developing new sales channels, hoping to break into the Southeast Asian market.

Usage Guide

Context: infrastructure, engineering, business

Tone: technical

Do Say

• 管道破裂了，到处都是水。(The pipe burst, there's water everywhere.)
• 我们需要拓宽销售管道。(We need to expand our sales channels.)

Don't Say

• 把普通水管说成管道 (For a simple household faucet pipe, use 水管 rather than the more technical-sounding 管道)

Origin & History

Compound of 管 (tube, pipe) + 道 (way, path). The combination creates a term for tubular pathways, both literal and figurative.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal