十字路口

shízìlùkǒu

noun HSK 7-9 #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 shízìlùkǒu zuǒzhuǎn.

Turn left at the intersection ahead.

他的人生正处在十字路口。

Tā de rénshēng zhèng chǔzài shízìlùkǒu.

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