How to Write 杈 (chā/chà) — Meaning “Fork (of a tree branch)”

Imagine a tree (木) splitting into two branches like the prongs of a fork (叉). The right part 叉 looks like a fork with a handle and two tines, making it easy to visualize a tree branch that forks. Just think "tree fork" and picture the character as a picture of a forked tree.

When writing 杈, remember the left part 木 must be written with a vertical stroke that goes straight down, and the diagonal strokes should not cross each other. The right part 叉 starts with a horizontal stroke, then a left-falling stroke, a right-falling stroke, and a dot in the middle — practice balancing the dot so it doesn't touch the lines. A common mistake is making the 叉 too wide, which makes the character look unbalanced.

杈 (chā) means a tree fork, while 未 (wèi) means "not yet" or is a time word, and 末 (mò) means "end" or "tip". Visually, 未 has a shorter upper horizontal stroke than lower, and 末 has a longer upper stroke; in contrast, 杈 is wider with a distinct 叉 on the right. They also have different pronunciations and completely different uses — 未 and 末 are common abstract words, while 杈 is a concrete noun for a forked branch.

杈 is used to describe a forked branch of a tree, as in 树杈 (shù chà, tree fork), or a tool like a pitchfork, as in 杈子 (chā zǐ). It is not part of the HSK vocabulary but appears in daily life when talking about trees, gardening, or farming. You might hear it in rural contexts or when discussing the shape of tree branches.

Common words containing 杈 include: 树杈 (shù chà) — Tree fork; 杈子 (chā zǐ) — Forked branch; pitchfork; 树杈儿 (shù chà ér) — Tree fork.