叉
chā , chá , chǎ · HSK 5
fork
🍴 叉 = pictograph of a hand 又 with a dot marking what it grabs — a fork
The character is 又 (hand) plus a single stroke showing the thing pinched between the fingers. Sound chā mimics the sharp jab of a fork. Same shape gives 叉子 (chāzi, fork) and 交叉 (jiāochā, to cross).
叉 — hand 又 + crossing stroke 丶
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) with an added stroke showing fingers crossed or something held between them. The character depicts the action of crossing or forking, which gave rise to meanings like 'fork,' 'cross,' and 'intersect.' The reading chā is most common for the noun 'fork.'