📖 Meaning
Literally meaning 'ten-character street crossing,' this idiom refers to a crossroads or intersection where two streets cross each other. It is commonly used to describe a bustling junction in a city or town. Figuratively, it can also suggest being at a critical juncture where one must choose a direction.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Ming dynasty author Shi Nai'an's classic novel 'Water Margin' (水浒传), Chapter 40, where it describes a scene of fierce battle at a crossroads: 'They went to the crossroads and, sparing neither officer nor commoner, slaughtered until corpses lay everywhere and blood flowed in streams.' The term vividly depicts a central intersection in a town. Modern writer Ding Ling also used it in her novel 'The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River,' cementing its place in literary Chinese.
💡 Example Usage
人群在十字街口四散开来，各自奔向不同的方向。
The crowd scattered at the crossroads, each person rushing off in a different direction.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 十字街口
- Pinyin: shí zì jiē kǒu
- Literal Translation: ten, character, street, crossing
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4