多歧亡羊 — “To get lost or go astray due to too many diverging paths or choices”

多歧亡羊 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to get lost or go astray due to too many diverging paths or choices”. Indicating that without a clear direction, one can easily fall into confusion or error. It also implies that one cannot achieve mastery if one attempts to learn too many things at once. Literally, “Many forks, lost sheep”.

Frequency

多歧亡羊 Pronunciation and Pinyin

多歧亡羊 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
多	duō	6	many, much, more
歧	qí	8	diverging or misleading path
亡	wáng	3	die, perish, flee, lose
羊	yáng	6	sheep or goat

Example Sentence with 多歧亡羊

在选择未来发展方向时，如果想法太多又没有明确规划，很容易陷入多歧亡羊的困境。

When choosing a future development path, if one has too many ideas without a clear plan, it's easy to fall into the predicament of 'many forks, lost sheep'.

Origin and Story of 多歧亡羊

Once upon a time, Yang Zhu's neighbor asked him to send his servants to help find a lost sheep.

Yang Zhu asked why so many people were needed for the search. The neighbor replied that there were many diverging paths on the road where the sheep was lost, so many people were required.

After a long time, the searchers returned, saying they hadn't found it. The neighbor explained that the diverging paths further branched into many more forks, making it utterly impossible to find the sheep.