caa1叉
Jyutpingcaa1
Yalechā
Definition
Fork, the dining utensil; or to branch out and split into different directions.
- fork; the eating utensil with prongs
- to fork; to split up or branch out into different directions
colloquialfooddaily actions
How it's used
While 叉 refers specifically to the eating utensil, it is also frequently used as a verb meaning to poke or stab something. You will often hear it in the context of picking up food from a shared dish, especially when someone is being impatient or greedy. It is distinct from the Mandarin usage where the character is often associated with the verb to cross or intersect.
Measure word
zi1支jīExamples
There are no forks to use here, only chopsticks.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 差, which is often used in the sense of being poor quality or a difference. Beginners sometimes mix up the tones, but 叉 is high-level while 差 is high-level or mid-level depending on the specific meaning.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
