铁路
tiělù · HSK 3
railroad track
🚂🛤️ 铁 (iron) + 路 (road) = iron road = railway
Compound decomposition: 铁 means iron and 路 means road or path. Chinese builds railway literally as iron-road, the same metaphor as German Eisenbahn and Russian железная дорога.
铁 — metal radical 钅 + 失 (shī) phonetic
铁 is the simplified form of 鐵, meaning 'iron'. It is a semantic-phonetic compound: the metal radical 钅 (金) signals the meaning (a metal), while 失 hints at the sound. The traditional 鐵 used a more complex phonetic element, but the modern simplified form keeps the same structure with a simpler right side.
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.