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轨道 meaning in English

guǐdào

track (for trains etc); orbit (of a satellite)

HSK 6nounTraditional 軌道18 strokes

Meaning of 轨道

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

guǐdào
  1. track (for trains etc)
  2. orbit (of a satellite)
  3. (fig.) a person's established path in life
  4. desired trajectory (of a business or other endeavor)
  5. (audio engineering) track
  6. (quantum mechanics) orbital

How to use 轨道

轨道 is used literally for rail tracks and orbits, and figuratively for something running on its normal course. A very common phrase is 走上正轨 or 步入轨道, meaning to get on the right track. Example: 卫星进入了轨道。(Wèixīng jìnrù le guǐdào.) The satellite entered orbit.

轨 (guǐ) has the car radical 车 on the left, so think of the fixed lines a vehicle runs along. Add 道 (dào), meaning road or path, and you get a set path: a train track or a satellite's orbit.

Common mistake: Learners often write the right side of 轨 like 九 with an extra stroke or confuse it with 执. The right side is exactly 九 (jiǔ), which also hints at the sound guǐ. Also remember 轨 is third tone, not second tone like 鬼 is sometimes misheard; both are guǐ, but 鬼 means ghost.

轨道 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ的de生shēng意yì终zhōng于yú上shàng了le轨guǐ道dào。
My business has at last gotten on the right track.
特tè快kuài火huǒ车chē正zhèng驶shǐ进jìn轨guǐ道dào。
The express train is moving down the track.
你nǐ在zài正zhèng确què的de轨guǐ道dào上shàng。
You're on the right track.
到dào5号hào轨guǐ道dào乘chéng随suí便biàn什shén么me火huǒ车chē。
Take any train on track 5.
由yóu于yú轨guǐ道dào是shì椭tuǒ圆yuán形xíng的de，行xíng星xīng和hé太tài阳yáng之zhī间jiān的de距jù离lí不bú会huì总zǒng是shì相xiāng同tóng。
Since the orbits are elliptical, the planets do not always have the same distance from the Sun.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

轨 guǐ · track · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

道 dào · road · 12 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

Related words

Words that share a character with 轨道.

知道zhīdàoto know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5]
味道wèidàoflavor; taste; (fig.) feeling (of ...); sense (of ...); hint (of ...)
道理dàolǐreason; argument
道路dàolùroad; path
难道nándàodon't tell me ...; could it be that...?
报道bàodàoto report (news); report
街道jiēdàostreet; subdistrict
道德dàodévirtue; morality
频道píndàofrequency; (television) channel
道歉dàoqiànto apologize
一道yīdàotogether
大道dàdàomain street; avenue

Questions about 轨道

What does 轨道 mean?

轨道 (guǐdào) means "track (for trains etc); orbit (of a satellite)" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 轨道?

轨道 is made of 2 characters: 轨 (6 strokes), 道 (12 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.

Is 轨道 an HSK word?

Yes. 轨道 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 轨道 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 轨道 is written 軌道.

How do you say a business is back on track in Chinese?

You can say 公司的发展回到了正常轨道 (gōngsī de fāzhǎn huídào le zhèngcháng guǐdào), or more briefly 走上正轨 (zǒushàng zhèngguǐ). Both use the idea of a track for a smooth, planned course.

What is the difference between 轨道 and 铁路?

铁路 (tiělù) means railway as a whole system or line. 轨道 refers to the track itself, and it also covers orbits and figurative paths. Light rail is 轻轨 (qīngguǐ) and rail transit is 轨道交通 (guǐdào jiāotōng).

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