Pavement
PAYV-munt /ˈpeɪvmənt/
Neutral Neutral
What it really means
The path beside the road where people walk — "sidewalk" in American English. Confusingly, in the US "pavement" means the road surface itself. Cycling on the pavement is generally not allowed in the UK.
Chinese explanation
人行道，美式英语叫"sidewalk"。容易混淆的是，在美国"pavement"指车行道路面。在英国，人行道上一般不允许骑自行车。
Example conversation
A: Walk on the pavement, not in the road!
B: Sorry, the pavement is so narrow here.
A：走人行道，别走机动车道！
B：抱歉，这里的人行道太窄了。
What you could say back
No spoken reply needed for this one.
Related phrases
Official sources
Rules and amounts change — confirm important details with the official source.
All Transport
Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team
· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake