十字路口

shízìlùkǒu

noun HSK 7 #11,945

Meanings

1 crossroads; intersection
2 at a crossroads (figurative: a critical decision point)

Characters

ten; cross-shaped (+)

character; shape

Literally 'ten-character road opening' — because the character 十 looks like a cross (+), just like two roads intersecting.

Examples

在前面的十字路口左转。

Zài qiánmiàn de shízì lùkǒu zuǒ zhuǎn.

Turn left at the intersection ahead.

他的人生正处在十字路口。

Tā de rénshēng zhèng chǔzài shízì lùkǒu.

His life is at a crossroads.

Tips

memory

The character 十 literally looks like a cross (+) — two lines intersecting. So 十字路口 is 'the place where roads form a 十 shape.' A T-shaped intersection is called 丁字路口 (dīngzì lùkǒu) because 丁 looks like a T.

Stroke Order

十 shí

字 zì

路 lù

口 kǒu