辙 zhé track
track; rut; stuck in a rut
How to remember 辙: 车 car + 育 nurture + 攵 tap = track. Every car on the road splashes the lambs the farmer tries to nurture, so he can only tap his boots and curse each track and puddle.
Component breakdown
辙 = 车 car + 𰕎
- 车 car
- 𰕎
- 育 nurture
- 亠 lid
- 厶 cocoon
- ⺝ moon
- 攵 tap
- 育 nurture
Every car on the road splashes the lambs the farmer tries to nurture, so he can only tap his boots and curse each track and puddle.
How it is used
- A wheel 'rut/track' - in 南辕北辙 (nányuán-běizhé) the 辙 is the direction the ruts point.
- Colloquially 没辙 (méizhé) = to be at one's wit's end, have no way out: 我真没辙了 (wǒ zhēn méizhé le) I'm totally stuck.
- 重蹈覆辙 (chóngdǎo-fùzhé) means to repeat a past mistake - literally to follow the same overturned track.