How to Write 岐 (qí) — Meaning “Divergent; branching”

Imagine you are standing at the foot of a mountain (山) and see a road that splits into two branches (支) ahead. This picture of a mountain path diverging into two ways helps link the shape to the meaning of 'divergent' or 'branching'.

Write the left radical 山 first with three strokes, then the right part 支 with four strokes. Be careful that the bottom horizontal of 山 is not too long; it should stay narrow so the right side has enough space. A common mistake is making 山 too wide, which makes the character unbalanced.

岐 has the right component 支 (branch), while 屹 (yì) has 乞 (beg) and means 'towering,' and 屺 (qǐ) has 己 (self) and means 'bare mountain.' The different right parts change both the pronunciation and the meaning, so look closely at the small stroke differences on the right side.

岐 appears mostly in place names like 岐山 (Mount Qi in Shaanxi) and in the word 岐路 (qí lù), meaning a fork or divergent path. It also shows up in cultural contexts, such as 岐山面 (Qishan noodles), a famous local dish, so learners may encounter it in geography or food descriptions.

Common words containing 岐 include: 岐路 (qí lù) — Fork in the road; divergent path; 岐山 (qí shān) — Mount Qi; 岐山面 (qí shān miàn) — Qishan noodles.