歧路亡羊 — “Lost a sheep at diverging paths”
歧路亡羊 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to get lost or go astray due to too many confusing options or a lack of clear direction, leading one to deviate from the correct path; to be led astray by diverging paths or complex choices”. Literally, “Lost a sheep at diverging paths”.
歧路亡羊 Pronunciation and Pinyin
歧路亡羊 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 歧路亡羊
Origin and Story of 歧路亡羊
Once, Yang Zhu's neighbor asked him to send a servant to help find a lost sheep.
Yang Zhu asked why so many people were needed for the search. The neighbor replied that the road where the sheep was lost had many diverging paths, which necessitated a large search party.
After a long time, the searchers returned, reporting that they hadn't found it. The neighbor then explained that the diverging paths had even more smaller branches, making it utterly impossible to find the sheep.
Idioms Related to 歧路亡羊
Synonyms of 歧路亡羊
Antonyms of 歧路亡羊
More idioms starting with 歧
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Open the tool →Questions about 歧路亡羊
What does 歧路亡羊 mean?
歧路亡羊 (qí lù wáng yáng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to get lost or go astray due to too many confusing options or a lack of clear direction, leading one to deviate from the correct path; to be led astray by diverging paths or complex choices”.
How do you pronounce 歧路亡羊?
歧路亡羊 is pronounced qí lù wáng yáng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 歧路亡羊 literally mean?
Literally, 歧路亡羊 means “Lost a sheep at diverging paths”. It is used to mean “to get lost or go astray due to too many confusing options or a lack of clear direction, leading one to deviate from the correct path; to be led astray by diverging paths or complex choices”.
Where does 歧路亡羊 come from?
歧路亡羊 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 歧路亡羊?
歧路：岔路；亡：丢失。因岔路太多无法追寻而丢失了羊。比喻事物复杂多变，没有正确的方向就会误入歧途。