adjective / bound morpheme HSK 5
divergent · branching · different · fork (in a road)
Meaning
歧 refers to branching, diverging, or splitting into different directions. It most commonly appears in compound words rather than standing alone. The character conveys the idea of paths, ideas, or things going in separate directions or having multiple possibilities.
Usage
歧 is rarely used alone in modern Mandarin and typically appears in set compounds like 歧视 (discrimination), 歧义 (ambiguity), and 歧路 (fork in the road). It carries a somewhat formal or literary tone.
Examples
- 01我们在这个问题上存在分歧。.We have a difference of opinion on this issue.
- 02这句话有歧义，容易被误解。, .This sentence is ambiguous and easily misunderstood.
Common collocations
- 歧视discrimination
- 歧义ambiguity
- 分歧divergence, difference of opinion
- 歧途wrong path, astray
Antonyms
Origin
The character 歧 combines 止 (stop, foot) with 支 (branch), originally depicting a road that branches into different paths.