修路

• Pinyin: xiū lù
• Hanzi breakdown: 修 = 亻 + 攸 + 彡 (build/repair); 路 = 足 + 各 (road/path)

Meaning

To build or repair roads; road construction or maintenance.

Used for both constructing new roads and repairing existing ones. A common collocation in infrastructure discourse. Also used figuratively to mean creating a path or channel for something.

Examples

1. 政府拨款在偏远山区修路，彻底改变了当地居民多年来出行不便的困境。 The government allocated funds to build roads in remote mountain areas, completely changing the long-standing problem of difficult travel for local residents.
2. 这条主干道因年久失修已凹凸不平，市政部门决定今年对其进行全面翻修。 Because this main road has been neglected for years and become bumpy and uneven, the city decided to fully renovate it this year.
3. 创业如同修路，需要脚踏实地地清除障碍，才能走出一条通向成功的坦途。 Starting a business is like building a road: you have to steadily clear obstacles to carve out a smooth path to success.

Usage Guide

Context: infrastructure, government, rural development, metaphor

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 为促进乡村振兴，政府持续加大对农村地区修路建桥等基础设施建设的投入力度。(To promote rural revitalisation, the government has continued to increase investment in rural infrastructure including road and bridge construction.)
• 这次修路工程历时八个月，完工后大大缩短了两个县城之间的行车时间。(This road construction project took eight months; upon completion it significantly reduced travel time between the two county towns.)

Don't Say

• 修路你的人生 — while 修路 can be used metaphorically, this phrasing is awkward; for building one's life path use 铺就人生之路 or 开创道路; keep the metaphor grammatically natural

Origin & History

修 (build/repair) + 路 (road/path) — to build or repair a road

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal