road / path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]) / (bound form) way / reason / principle / (bound form) a skill / an art / a specialization / (Daoism) the Way / the Dao / to say (introducing a direct quotation, as in a novel) / (bound form) to express / to extend (polite words) / classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc), commands, courses in a meal, steps in a process / (old) circuit (administrative division)
Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation / idiom / proverb / saying / adage / CL:條|条[tiao2],本[ben3],句[ju4]
the ideal is to be like water (which benefits all living things and does not struggle against them) (quotation from the "Book of Dao" 道德經|道德经[Dao4 de2 jing1])
xiān tiān xià zhī yōu ér yōu , hòu tiān xià zhī lè ér lè
to be the first to worry about affairs of state, and the last to enjoy oneself (quotation from the essay On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记[Yue4yang2 Lou2 Ji4] by Song writer Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹[Fan4 Zhong4yan1])
lit. to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit (idiom) / fig. to turn down a request only to be forced later to comply with it under pressure
to request a song to be played / to pick a karaoke song
The four tones
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