‘Dà jiē’ literally means ‘big street’ — ‘dà’ (big, large) modifies ‘jiē’ (street), together forming a compound noun that refers to a major, central, or prominent thoroughfare in a city or town. Unlike smaller side streets (小街 xiǎo jiē) or alleys (胡同 hú tòng), a dà jiē is typically wide, heavily trafficked, lined with shops, banks, or government buildings, and often serves as a commercial or symbolic heart of an area.

This term carries no strong formal or informal register — it’s neutral and widely used in everyday speech, maps, signage, and directions. It may appear in proper names (e.g., Nanjing Dà Jiē) or generic references (e.g., ‘Let’s meet on the main street’). While ‘jiē’ alone can mean ‘street’ in general, adding ‘dà’ specifies scale and importance — not just physical size, but functional centrality and public visibility.