隧

A phono-semantic compound composed of:

阜 (부) (mound; hill; earthworks) — semantic component, indicates earth, slopes, or structures made into the ground;

遂 (수) (to accomplish; to reach; finally) — phonetic component, supplies the sound "su" and carries the sense of reaching a destination.

The structure conveys the idea of a passage made through earth that leads somewhere, rather than an open surface road.

The earliest and most precise meaning of 隧 is 묘도 (墓道) —

the subterranean passage in ancient stone-chamber tombs that connects the outside to the burial chamber where the coffin is placed.

This meaning is highly specific and technical, referring to funerary architecture rather than general roads.

From this original funerary sense, the meanings expanded step by step:

- burial passage (묘도) — underground corridor in a tomb;

- underground passage — any man-made passage beneath the ground;

- tunnel / subterranean road — functional infrastructure;

- road / path (extended, abstract) — generalized sense of “way” or “route.”

隧 is a good example of a character whose primary ancient meaning is much narrower than its later generalized gloss.

Modern usage focuses almost entirely on tunnels, with the tomb-related sense surviving mainly in archaeology and classical studies.

In Korean, the reading ‘길 수’ can be misleading without historical context, as it hides the original funerary meaning.

Classical / archaeological:

묘수 (墓隧) — burial passage

석실묘의 수 — the passage of a stone chamber tomb

Infrastructure:

수도 (隧道) — tunnel; underground passage

지하수 (地下隧) — underground tunnel (classical-style)

隧 emphasizes enclosed passage through earth, not open travel.

Often contrasted with:

路 — open road

道 — way; path (general)

The character carries an implicit sense of directionality toward an endpoint, inherited from 遂.

Related characters:

道 — road; way

路 — road; path

穴 — cave; hole

陵 — tomb mound

墓 — grave

Among these, 隧 denotes a man-made underground passage, especially one leading inward rather than across open space.

Classical usage:

穿隧而入 — “to enter by passing through the tunnel”

隧深而幽 — “the burial passage was deep and dark”