一路
yīlù · HSK 5
all the way
🛣️ 一 = one + 路 = road: one road, the whole way through
Compound of 一 (one/single) + 路 (road/route). Literally one road, meaning the same route from start to end. Extends to all along or throughout the journey, as in 一路平安 safe travels.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
路 — foot 足 + each 各 (phonetic)
路 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 on the left signals meaning related to walking or travel, while 各 on the right hints at the ancient pronunciation. Originally referring to a road traveled on foot, it broadened to mean 'road, path, route' in general.