岔 (chà) - fork in a road & branch off
岔 · chà
fork in a road;
branch off;
turn off;
accident;
trouble;
incident.
fork in a roadbranch offturn off
Usage highlights
fork in the roadintersectionbranch offgo wrongvoice crackingmountain pass
Usage & contexts
Examples
- Turn left at the fork in the road (在岔路口左转).
- We took the wrong fork (我们走错了岔路).
- His voice cracked (他嗓子岔了).
- An unexpected incident occurred (出了岔子).
Collocations
- fork in the road(岔路)
- intersection(岔路口)
- branch off(岔开)
- go wrong(出岔子)
- voice cracking(岔气)
- mountain pass(山岔)
Idioms
- To take a wrong turn(误入岔道)
- To branch off the topic(岔开话题)
- To meet with an accident(出了岔子)
Cultural background
FAQ- The character combines 'mountain' (山) and 'divide' (分), pictographically representing a mountain path splitting into branches.
- In Chinese culture, '岔' often carries negative connotations of deviation, accidents, or things going wrong.
- Used in various contexts from physical roads to metaphorical divergences and mishaps.