大街
dà jiē · HSK 6
street
🛣️ 大街 = big + street (compound: 大 big, 街 street/avenue)
大 means big or great, and 街 means street. Together they denote a main thoroughfare — literally a big street. The classifier 条 (tiáo) is used for long, thin things like roads.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
街 — 行 (go) + 圭 (jade tablets, phonetic)
街 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The outer 行 originally depicted a crossroads and gives the meaning 'road' or 'thoroughfare'. The inner 圭 supplies the sound. Together they denote a street or public way through a town.