叉 (chā) is a Chinese character meaning “a fork or prong”. It is written from 又 (again) and 丶 (dot stroke), one enclosing the other, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “fork; cross”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
又 + 丶
Enclosing structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection
Memory aid
又 opens like a hand, and one small dot 丶 sits right where its two arms cross — that crossing point is the fork.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 叉子chā zifork (utensil)叉 = chā
- 交叉jiāo chāto cross; to intersect; crisscross叉 = chā
Go deeper
All readings
fork; cross
a fork or prong; to cross; to intersect; a cross mark (×)
一端分开成尖齿的用具；交错、相交；也指表示错误的符号“×”。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 叉子chā zifork (utensil)叉 = chā
- 交叉jiāo chāto cross; to intersect; crisscross叉 = chā
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 叉 mean?
叉 (chā) means a fork or prong; to cross; to intersect; a cross mark (×).
How do you pronounce 叉?
It is pronounced chā.
What parts is 叉 made of?
又 (again) and 丶 (dot stroke), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 叉 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 叉?
又. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 叉?
Common ones are 叉子 and 交叉. The reading of 叉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.