大街 meaning in English

大街 means a main street or a busy public street, and it often appears in street names or in phrases about being out in public. In casual speech, 上大街 or 在大街上 can just mean out on the street. Example: 他在大街上遇到了老同学。(Tā zài dàjiē shang yùdào le lǎo tóngxué.) He ran into an old classmate on the street.

大 (dà) means big and 街 (jiē) means street, so 大街 is simply the big street. Look inside 街 and you will see two 土 (tǔ, earth) stacked between the parts of 行 (xíng, to walk), like a paved road where people walk.

Common mistake: Learners often write 街 with the wrong middle part, putting in 土 once or using 圭 incorrectly. The middle is 圭, which is two 土 stacked, placed inside 行. Also, 街 is first tone (jiē), not jié or jiè.