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误入歧途 (wù rù qí tú) — to go astray; to be misled (into the wrong path)

Definition

An idiom meaning 'to go astray' or 'be led onto the wrong path' — usually about a person making a bad moral or life choice, not just getting physically lost.

idiom
to go astrayto be misled (into the wrong path)

Examples

  • 误入歧途，。
    Tā nián qīng shí wù rù qí tú, hòu lái zhōng yú gǎi guò zì xīn.
    He went astray when he was young, but later he turned over a new leaf.
  • 误入歧途。
    Zhè běn shū gào sù qīng shào nián rú hé bì miǎn wù rù qí tú.
    This book teaches teenagers how to avoid going astray.
  • ，误入歧途。
    Zài péng you de bāng zhù xià, tā zǒu chū le wù rù qí tú de yīn yǐng.
    With the help of friends, he emerged from the shadow of having strayed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

误入enter wrongly
误wùwrongly入rùenter
偏正Modifier + head
歧途deviant path
歧qídeviant途túpath
偏正Modifier + head

'误入' means to enter wrongly, and '歧途' is a deviant path, so the meaning is to stray onto the wrong road.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 誤; 误 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
吳
吳wú誤wù
Same sound today

The traditional form 誤 uses 言 (speech) for meaning and 吳 for sound, giving the idea of speaking an error; the simplified 误 is a later shorthand.

Open 误 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú途
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

Open 途 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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