路段
lùduàn · HSK 7
Section
🛣️ 路 (road) + 段 (segment) = a road segment, a stretch of road
段 means a length or segment of something; pair it with 路 (road) and you get one section of road. Used for stretches of highway or street, like a closed 路段 under repair.
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.
段 — left component 𠂉 + right component 殳 (weapon/strike)
段 originally depicted striking or hammering a piece of stone or metal with a tool, shown by the 殳 'strike' element on the right. From this 'hammering/forging' sense it extended to mean a section or segment cut off, and today it commonly means a paragraph, stage, or piece.