叉 meaning and stroke order
Fork; pitchfork; prong
How to write 叉, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 叉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- fork
- pitchfork
- prong
- pick
- cross
- intersect
- to cross
- be stuck
- to diverge
- to open (as legs)
- used in 劈叉[pi3 cha4]
- used in 分叉[fen1 cha4]
How 叉 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A hand 又 grasping an object 丶.
Radical: 又 (and), shared by 21 characters on this site.
How to remember 叉
叉 is a hand 又 with an extra dot 丶 tucked between its fingers, like a hand gripping something it has speared. Picture the strokes of 又 as the prongs of a fork holding a bite of food.
In everyday speech 叉 (chā) shows up most in 叉子 (chāzi) fork and 交叉 (jiāochā) to cross or intersect. It also names pronged tools, as in 鱼叉 (yúchā) harpoon. Example: 我用叉子吃面。(Wǒ yòng chāzi chī miàn.) I eat noodles with a fork.
Common mistake: Learners often write 叉 as plain 又 (yòu) and forget the dot, or put the dot outside the shape. The dot sits inside, between the strokes. Also, 叉 has other tones in some words, such as 分叉 (fēnchà) to fork or branch and 劈叉 (pǐchà) to do the splits.
Common words with 叉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
叉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 叉
Learning 叉 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 叉
How many strokes are in 叉?
叉 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 叉 mean?
叉 (chā) means fork; pitchfork; prong. A common word with it is 叉子 (chāzi), meaning "fork".
How do you pronounce 叉?
叉 is pronounced chā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 叉?
The radical of 叉 is 又, which carries the idea of "and". Dictionaries list 叉 under this radical.
Is 叉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 叉 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What does the X mark called 打叉 mean in Chinese?
打叉 (dǎ chā) means to mark something with a cross, usually to show it is wrong or rejected. It is the opposite of 打勾 (dǎ gōu), making a check mark.
Is 叉烧 the same as char siu?
Yes. 叉烧 (chāshāo) is Cantonese barbecued pork, and the name comes from the long forks used to roast the meat over a fire. Char siu is the Cantonese pronunciation of the same word.