歧路 (qí lù) — forked road (a road that splits into two branches); wrong path (a misguided direction in life or decision-making)

Definition

Literary term for a 'forked road' or, by extension, a wrong life direction. Far more formal and written than everyday words for road like 路 or 马路, and carries a metaphorical weight about choices and mistakes.

noun
forked road (a road that splits into two branches)wrong path (a misguided direction in life or decision-making)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 歧路，。
    Dào le qí lù, wǒ men bù zhī dào gāi zǒu nǎ tiáo lù.
    When we reached the forked road, we didn't know which way to go.
  • 歧路。
    Tā yīn yì shí tān niàn ér zǒu shàng le qí lù.
    He took the wrong path because of a momentary greed.
  • 歧路，。
    Rén shēng nán miǎn huì miàn duì qí lù, guān jiàn shì rú hé jué zé.
    Life inevitably confronts us with forked roads; the key is how to choose.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

歧qíforked
路lùroad

歧 describes a forked or diverging path, and 路 is the road itself.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 歧 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →

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