guǐ dào
piste; sentier
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航天飞机在轨道上运行。
hángtiān fēijī zài guǐdào shàng yùnxíng.
The space shuttle is operating in orbit.
地球绕太阳运行的轨道是椭圆形的。
dìqiú rào tàiyáng yùnxíng de guǐdào shì tuǒyuán xíng de.
The orbit of the Earth around the sun is elliptical.
卫星在轨道上运行，可以对地球进行观测。
wèixīng zài guǐdào shàng yùnxíng, kěyǐ duì dìqiú jìnxíng guāncè.
Satellites can observe the Earth while operating in orbit.
铁轨 (tiěguǐ)
rail
轨道交通 (guǐdào jiāotōng)
rail transit
地面 (dìmiàn)
ground
陆地 (lùdì)
land
The Chinese word 轨道 (guǐdào) for "orbit" or "track" is composed of two characters: 轨 (guǐ) and 道 (dào). The character 轨 originally meant "a rut made by wheels" and later extended to mean "track" or "orbit". It is composed of the radical 车 (chē), which indicates that it is related to vehicles, and the phonetic component 癸 (guǐ). The character 道 (dào) has a rich history and can have several meanings, including "path", "road", "way", "course", "principle", or "doctrine". It is composed of the radical 辵 (chù), which indicates that it is related to movement, and the phonetic component 首 (shǒu). When combined, the characters 轨 and 道 form the word 轨道, which specifically refers to the path or track of a celestial body or a vehicle.
