岔 (chà) is a Chinese character meaning “a fork or branch in a road”. It is written from 分 (to divide; a share) and 山 (mountain), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “a fork in the road”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
分 + 山
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS ⿱分山（现代字形拆分），已与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核验：分 4 + 山 3 = 岔 7
Memory aid
Split (分) sitting on a mountain (山). The road runs into the hills and divides — that is a fork.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 岔路chà lùfork in the road; side road岔 = chà
- 打岔dǎ chàto interrupt; to cut in on someone岔 = chà
Go deeper
All readings
fork; branch off
a fork or branch in a road; to branch off; to change the subject; a mishap
道路分开的地方；由主路分出去。也指转开话题，或指意外事故。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 岔路chà lùfork in the road; side road岔 = chà
- 打岔dǎ chàto interrupt; to cut in on someone岔 = chà
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 岔 mean?
岔 (chà) means a fork or branch in a road; to branch off; to change the subject; a mishap.
How do you pronounce 岔?
It is pronounced chà.
What parts is 岔 made of?
分 (to divide; a share) and 山 (mountain), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS ⿱分山（现代字形拆分），已与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核验：分 4 + 山 3 = 岔 7. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 岔 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 岔?
山. 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 岔?
Common ones are 岔路 and 打岔. The reading of 岔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.