dao

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /daʊ/ UK /daʊ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

tao /daʊ/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like thou /ð/ vs /d/

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the Tao; the guiding principle or path in Chinese philosophy

He sought to live in harmony with the dao.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the tao; the guiding... tao way path principle

Word family

Derived forms daoismdaoist

Related forms taotaoism

Etymology

From Mandarin Chinese dào ('way, path, principle'), the central concept of Taoist philosophy; an alternative romanization of 'tao'.

dào Chinese

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Topics

Abstract Ideas

# dao

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** daʊ
**IPA (UK):** daʊ

## Meanings
1. the Tao; the guiding principle or path in Chinese philosophy

## Examples
- He sought to live in harmony with the dao.

## Synonyms
- tao
- way
- path
- principle

## Derived Forms
- daoism
- daoist

## Related Forms
- tao
- taoism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dào

## Etymology
From Mandarin Chinese dào ('way, path, principle'), the central concept of Taoist philosophy; an alternative romanization of 'tao'.

## AI Etymology
Dao is from Mandarin Chinese dào ('way, path, principle'), the central concept of Taoist philosophy; an alternative romanization of 'tao'. The immediate etymological form is Chinese dào. In present use as a noun, it means "the Tao; the guiding principle or path in Chinese philosophy", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include tao and taoism; derived forms include daoism and daoist. The surrounding word family keeps the same base visible in daoism, daoist, tao, and taoism, showing how the headword belongs to a larger cluster rather than standing alone.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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dao

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