衕 (tòng) - Tong — alley, lane, thoroughfare & specifically refers to a narrow street or passageway

衕Tone 4

tòng ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

婷婉

衕 · tòng

Tong — alley, lane, thoroughfare;

specifically refers to a narrow street or passageway between buildings.

Tong — alley, lane, thoroughfarespecifically refers to a narrow street or passageway

Usage highlights

HutongAlleywayDeadThrough laneSmall laneAlley entrance

Synonyms

  • 巷— lane, alley
  • 弄— alley, lane (more common in southern China)
  • 胡同— hutong, narrow street

Antonyms

  • 街— street, avenue (broader than alley)
  • 道— road, path (wider thoroughfare)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • We walked through the narrow alley (胡同).
  • The hutong is a traditional Beijing lane (北京胡同).
  • This lane connects two main streets (这条衕连接两条主街).
  • Many old hutongs have been preserved (许多老胡同被保留下来).

Collocations

  • Hutong(胡同)
  • Alleyway(巷衕)
  • Dead-end alley(死衕)
  • Through lane(穿堂衕)
  • Small lane(小衕)
  • Alley entrance(衕口)

Idioms

  • Streets and alleys(街街衕衕)
  • Every street and lane(大街小衕)
  • Winding lanes and alleys(曲巷弯衕)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used in Chinese urban planning to describe narrow residential lanes, particularly in northern Chinese cities.
  • The character appears frequently in place names and urban geography, especially in traditional neighborhood layouts.
  • Hutongs represent an important architectural and cultural heritage of traditional Chinese residential communities.

FAQ