歧途 (qí tú) — (figurative) wrong path; the course of error or… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally a fork in the road, 歧途 is almost always used figuratively for a 'wrong path' in life or morals. It appears in set phrases like 走上歧途 ('go astray').

noun

(figurative) wrong paththe course of error or evil(literal) fork in the roadbranch road

Examples

歧途。
Tā zǒu shàng le qí tú.
He went astray.
歧途。
Nǐ yào xiǎo xīn bú yào zǒu shàng qí tú.
You must be careful not to go astray.
，歧途。
Tā jí shí huí tóu, méi yǒu zài qí tú shàng yuè zǒu yuè yuǎn.
She turned back in time and didn't go further down the wrong path.

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; wrong

歧 (forked/wrong) and 途 (road) combine to mean a wrong path.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

辶余途

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

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.

Appears in

Abstract Concepts Directions

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