Word
鉄道
Meaning in Englishrailway; railroad
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
鉄道 means the railway system, the network of tracks, stations, and trains that moves people and goods by rail.
Main meanings
- the physical infrastructure of rails, stations, and rolling stock used for transporting people and goods by rail
- the rail transport industry or sector as an economic activity
- a generic reference in formal discourse to rail-based transport services and their management
How to use it
Used to discuss rail transport in formal and technical contexts, including policy, planning, and news; common in official names and infrastructure discussions; in everyday speech it simply denotes rail travel as a concept.
Variants and close terms
- 鉄路 (てつろ, tetsuro) – archaic or literary synonym
- 鉄道網 (てつどうもう, tetsudōmō) – the railway network
- 鉄道会社 (てつどうがいしゃ, tetsudō gaisha) – railway company
Composition
- 鉄 iron, metal radical
- 道 road or way
- Together denote a road made of iron, i.e., rails for trains
Etymology
Kanji 鉄 means iron; 道 means road or way; together they form a compound read tetsudō, illustrating the iron road concept as a railway term, with the on'yomi readings from each character combined in a single word.
Origin
Meiji period modernization of Japan; railway networks began with the first line in 1872 and expanded rapidly to connect major cities.
Word class
noun (名詞)
Related words by kanji and components
N1
街道
kaidou
highway
N1
軌道
kidou
orbit; track
N1
道場
doujou
(arch) dojo, hall used for martial arts training, mandala
N1
製鉄
seitetsu
iron manufacture
N1
使い道
tsukaimichi
use
N1
鉄鋼
tekkou
iron and steel
N1
鉄棒
tetsubou
iron rod, crowbar, horizontal bar (gymnastics)
N1
報道
houdou
coverage, report
N2
～道
～dou
kind of path, road