Meaning of 叉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- fork
- pitchfork
- prong
- pick
- cross
- intersect
- "X"
- to cross
- be stuck
- to diverge
- to open (as legs)
- used in 劈叉[pi3 cha4]
- used in 分叉[fen1 cha4]
How to use 叉
In everyday speech 叉 (chā) mostly appears in words like 叉子 (chāzi, fork) and 交叉 (jiāochā, to cross). As a verb it can mean to stab or pick something up with a fork. Example: 我用叉子吃面。(Wǒ yòng chāzi chī miàn.) I eat noodles with a fork.
叉 looks like 又 (yòu), a hand, with an extra dot between the fingers. Picture something stuck between your fingers, or a hand spread out like the prongs of a fork.
Common mistake: Learners often write 叉 as 又 and forget the dot, or put the dot outside the strokes. The dot sits inside, between the two strokes. Also remember the tone changes in some words, such as 分叉 (fēnchà) and 劈叉 (pǐchà), which use the fourth tone.
叉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
叉 chā · fork · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 叉.
Questions about 叉
What does 叉 mean?
叉 (chā) means "fork; pitchfork" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 叉?
叉 is made of 1 character: 叉 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 叉 an HSK word?
Yes. 叉 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is char siu written 叉烧 in Chinese?
叉烧 (chāshāo) literally means fork roasted, because the pork is roasted on long forked skewers. The English name char siu comes from the Cantonese pronunciation.
How do you say the X mark for a wrong answer in Chinese?
People call the X mark 叉 (chā) or 叉叉 (chāchā), and the check mark is 勾 (gōu). You can say 打叉 (dǎ chā), to mark with an X.