大路|おおじooji[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounmain street (esp. in a capital); main thoroughfare
2. nounmost important of the three classes of highway (ritsuryō period)

• SynonymメインストリートNeutralLoanword for the busiest, most important street at the heart of a city; it stresses the lively hub, while 「大路」 is an archaic word for a broad avenue.
• Synonym大通りおおどおりNeutralThe everyday word for a wide main street in town; 「大路」 has an archaic flavor and survives mostly in old capitals like Kyoto, as in 「一条大路」.
• Synonym大道だいどうWrittenWritten-style word for a broad avenue; it can also mean the great moral path people should follow, a sense 「大路」 does not have.
• Synonym目抜き通りめぬきどおりNeutralThe street where shops cluster and foot traffic is heaviest — the town's busiest strip; it stresses bustle, while 「大路」 just denotes a broad avenue.
• Synonym本通りほんどおりNeutralA town's principal street, set against its back lanes; it stresses being the main artery rather than the width that 「大路」 implies.
• Related広小路ひろこうじNeutralA broad street, often preserved in place names such as 「上野広小路」; it carries an Edo-period flavor unlike the classical 「大路」.
• Related通り筋NeutralThe stretch along a street or the area a road runs through, rather than the road itself; used comparatively rarely.
• Antonym小路こうじNeutralAntonym: a narrow lane or alley, the opposite of the wide 「大路」.
• Antonym小道こみちNeutralAntonym: a small path or trail, contrasted with the broad 「大路」.
• Antonym細道ほそみちNeutralAntonym: a narrow, slender path, as in the title 「奥の細道」; the direct opposite of wide 「大路」.

For an ordinary wide street say 「大通り」; 「大路」 is archaic, heard mainly in old capitals like Kyoto (「一条大路」). Use 「メインストリート」 or 「目抜き通り」 for a bustling central shopping street, 「本通り」 for a town's main artery, 「広小路」 for Edo-flavored street names, and 「大道」 in formal prose (also 'moral path'). The opposites are 「小路」, 「小道」 and 「細道」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 幅はばの広ひろい道みち。