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岔路 (chà lù) — fork in the road; branch road

Definition

noun
fork in the roadbranch road
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 岔路，。
    Qián miàn yǒu yí gè chà lù, jì de zǒu yòu biān nà tiáo.
    There's a fork up ahead; remember to take the right one.
  • 岔路，，。
    Zǒu dào chà lù shí, tā tíng le xià lái, bù zhī gāi xuǎn nǎ tiáo.
    When he reached the fork, he stopped, not knowing which way to choose.
  • 岔路。
    Zhè tiáo chà lù tōng wǎng yí gè xiǎo cūn zhuāng.
    This branch road leads to a small village.

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.

岔chàfork
路lùroad

岔 means a fork or branch and 路 means road; 岔路 is a road that branches off.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

岔 combines 分 (split; division) and 山 (mountain), showing a mountain divided into branches.

Open 岔 →

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 →
Appears in
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