大通り
おおどおり · oodoori · JLPT N2 · noun
main street
🛣️ 大通り = big (大) + passage (通り): the big way through town
大 (oo) means big and 通り (toori) means street or passage, from 通る, to pass through. Put together they make the big road everyone passes along. The t turns into d (rendaku), so ootoori becomes oodoori.
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.
通 — 辵 (辶) walk + 甬 yǒng (phonetic)
通 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 (chuò) component means 'walk' or 'movement', giving the meaning of going through or passing. 甬 (yǒng), originally depicting a hanging bell or a path, supplies the sound. Together they convey 'to pass through, communicate, connect'.