道路|どうろdouro[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounroad; highway
   その崖がけは道路どうろの上うえに突き出つきでている。↗

   The cliff hangs over the road.

• Synonym道みちNeutralThe most common everyday word for a road or way, covering small paths and abstract ones too; 「道路」 is the proper term for a road built for people and vehicles.
• SynonymロードNeutralA loanword used mostly in proper names and compounds like 「シルクロード」 and 「ロードバイク」; when you just mean a road, use 「道路」 or 「道」.
• Synonym街道かいどうNeutralA major road linking cities, especially the old highways of the Edo period, as in 「東海道」; 「道路」 is the general term for traffic roads.
• Synonym通路つうろNeutralA passage for people to move through, often inside a building or facility; 「道路」 is a traffic facility open to people and vehicles.
• Synonym街路がいろWrittenA road forming the street grid of a built-up area, as in 「街路樹」; a written, formal word, while 「道路」 is not limited to city streets.
• Synonym通りとおりNeutralA street, often part of a street name like 「銀座通り」, with a feel of the surrounding blocks; 「道路」 is more formal and views the road as a facility.
• Related通り道とおりみちNeutralA path one passes through, a passage — as in 「猫の通り道」 or 「帰りの通り道」; 「道路」 is a proper road for traffic.
• Related道筋みちすじNeutralThe route one follows, and by extension the logical course or steps of a matter, as in 「解決への道筋」; 「道路」 refers only to the road itself.
• Related経路けいろNeutralThe route taken or to be taken, as in 「避難経路」 or 「感染経路」; 「道路」 is the road facility itself, not the course of travel.
• Related道のりみちのりNeutralThe distance or length of a journey, and figuratively the process of reaching a goal, as in 「長い道のり」; 「道路」 is the road as a physical facility.
• Related途とWrittenA way or means; in formal writing it is also written 「途」, as in 「帰国の途」; 「道路」 is only a traffic facility and is not used this way.
• Related小道こみちNeutralA narrow path or lane, with the emphasis on being small and narrow; 「道路」 is the general term for roads as facilities and says nothing about width.
• RelatedルートNeutralA loanword for a route, also a channel as in 「販売ルート」; 「道路」 is the road itself, not the way you travel it.
• Related路線ろせんNeutralA bus, train or similar transport line; also a policy or line of action, as in 「路線変更」; 「道路」 is the road as a physical facility.
• Related通りとおりNeutralA street, often part of a street name like 「銀座通り」, with a feel of the surrounding blocks; 「道路」 is more formal and views the road as a facility.
• Related進路しんろNeutralThe direction of forward movement, as in 「台風の進路」, or one's course after graduation; 「道路」 is an actual road.
• Related道途どうとWrittenA written, archaic word for the road or journey ahead, rarely seen today; say 「道」 or 「道路」 in everyday use.
• Related行路こうろWrittenWritten language for the road one travels, also figuratively the course of a life, as in 「人生行路」; in daily speech say 「道」.
• Related通い路かよいじWrittenA written, archaic term for the road one travels regularly, found mainly in classical poetry; today say 「通り道」 or 「道」.
• Related行き道ゆきみちNeutralThe road you take when going somewhere, the counterpart of 「帰り道」; 「道路」 makes no going-or-returning distinction and just means the road.

Use 「道路」 for a proper road built for people and vehicles. Everyday 「道」 covers roads, paths and figurative ways; 「通り」 fits city streets, often in names like 「銀座通り」. Routes are 「ルート」 or 「経路」; the distance or process of a journey is 「道のり」. The rest are narrower: 「通り道」 a passage, 「通路」 a walkway, 「小道」 a narrow path, 「街道」 a major highway, 「路線」 a transport line, 「進路」 a direction of travel, 「道筋」 a course of action; 「街路」「行路」「道途」「通い路」 are written or archaic, and 「ロード」 is mostly used in names and compounds.

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

1. ある地点ちてんから他ほかの地点ちてんへ通つうじる、人ひと、車両しゃりょう等とう交通こうつうのために設もうけた地上ちじょう、地下ちか、高架こうかのみち。