<p>sometimes it's the same but not all the time.</p>

<p>say, 道路 and 路途, here they mean the same thing, the way or road.</p>

<p>however, in the history of China, 道 has more meaning than it appears. as you know, Taoism begins with the discussion of 道. it means the essence of the universe.</p>

<p>another example is 道不同不相为谋, here 道 actually means the choice of life. 途 won't express the same meaning. say, 仕途 means the the life as a officer. if you feel the meaning of the word, you can feel that 道 is more likely to stress the choice made by person and 途 will emphasize the thing it is.</p>

<p>道 can mean morality too. this character is rich. we can discuss it all day long, but 途 won't be.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-04T11:23:06.823Z
According to your explanation, 道 should work better than 途 as a translation of "way" in the words of Jesus, as there is a choice that the follower needs to make, and it certainly also has a moral aspect. What do you think?
米好 '-'
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-04T13:39:31.287Z
@michau absolutely better. i hardly see 途 refers to a mental related topic. it's more realistic.
Jason Hu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-03T17:40:32.493Z
2014-09-03T18:54:00.473Z
2014-09-03T18:54:00.473Z
Jason Hu
<p>As we all know, 道 is an important concept in classical Chinese, meaning "the way" in the metaphorical sense. It is a central concept in Taoism, but it was also used in Buddhism and Confucianism to designate the proper attitude, habits and behaviour.</p>

<p>I was wondering if the same word was used in classical Chinese translations of the Bible, and it seems it was not. I used John 14:6 as to test that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In a <a href="http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%81%96%E7%B6%93_(%E6%96%87%E7%90%86%E5%92%8C%E5%90%88)/%E7%B4%84%E7%BF%B0%E7%A6%8F%E9%9F%B3">classical Chinese version of the Bible</a> it is translated as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>耶稣曰、我即途也、诚也、生也、非由我、则无人诣父、</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And here comes my question: does 途 here have basically the same meaning as 道, or is there a significant difference between the two terms? Would it be possible to change one into another in this context without changing its meaning?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-03T14:24:59.670Z
和合本 uses 道路 in this instance. 途 and 道 are pretty much the same here considering the style - classical/ancient Chinese. Modern contexts would change the meaning quite a bit, though.
Mou某
<classical-chinese>
道 vs 途 in religious texts
# 道 vs 途 in religious texts

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-03)

As we all know, 道 is an important concept in classical Chinese, meaning "the way" in the metaphorical sense. It is a central concept in Taoism, but it was also used in Buddhism and Confucianism to designate the proper attitude, habits and behaviour.

I was wondering if the same word was used in classical Chinese translations of the Bible, and it seems it was not. I used John 14:6 as to test that:

> Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In a [classical Chinese version of the Bible](http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%81%96%E7%B6%93_(%E6%96%87%E7%90%86%E5%92%8C%E5%90%88)/%E7%B4%84%E7%BF%B0%E7%A6%8F%E9%9F%B3) it is translated as:

> 耶稣曰、我即途也、诚也、生也、非由我、则无人诣父、

And here comes my question: does 途 here have basically the same meaning as 道, or is there a significant difference between the two terms? Would it be possible to change one into another in this context without changing its meaning?

**Tags:** classical-chinese

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 和合本 uses 道路 in this instance. 途 and 道 are pretty much the same here considering the style - classical/ancient Chinese. Modern contexts would change the meaning quite a bit, though.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-09-03. Score: 4

sometimes it's the same but not all the time.

say, 道路 and 路途, here they mean the same thing, the way or road.

however, in the history of China, 道 has more meaning than it appears. as you know, Taoism begins with the discussion of 道. it means the essence of the universe.

another example is 道不同不相为谋, here 道 actually means the choice of life. 途 won't express the same meaning. say, 仕途 means the the life as a officer. if you feel the meaning of the word, you can feel that 道 is more likely to stress the choice made by person and 途 will emphasize the thing it is.

道 can mean morality too. this character is rich. we can discuss it all day long, but 途 won't be.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: According to your explanation, 道 should work better than 途 as a translation of "way" in the words of Jesus, as there is a choice that the follower needs to make, and it certainly also has a moral aspect. What do you think?  
> **username_2**: @michau absolutely better. i hardly see 途 refers to a mental related topic. it's more realistic.  

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