Learn Chinese word radical – Foot

足 (zú) is the Chinese word for feet. It also means sufficient or ample. Today we will only talk about this character in relation to the feet and the actions that are usually performed using the feet.

Soccer and football are both called 足球 (zúqiú) in Chinese. To avoid ambiguity, you could refer to football as 美国足球 (Měiguó zúqiú) or 橄榄球 (gǎnlǎnqiú football or rugby).

你喜欢看足球赛吗?
Nǐ xǐhuān kàn zúqiú sài ma?
Do you like to watch soccer games?

趾 (zhǐ) are the toes. As this character sounds exactly the same as 指 (zhǐ fingers, to point to), it’s best to refer to your toes as 脚趾 (jiǎozhǐ), and your fingers as 手指 (shǒuzhǐ).

脚跟 (jiǎogēn) is the heel. As a verb, 跟 (gēn) means to follow. Many people use 跟 (gēn) as the conjunctive “and” instead of 和 (hé).

他跟我一样高.
Tā gēn wǒ yīyàng gāo.
He is the same height as I am.

跑 (pǎo) is to run or to escape. You’ve had plenty of practice pronouncing this word while reading/singing the “Two Tigers” song discussed in Chapter 1 of “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes“.

趴 (pā) is to lie prone.

他趴在地上.
Tā pā zài dì shàng.
He lay prone on the ground.

蹩 (bié) is to have sprained one’s ankle, and 蹩脚 (biéjiǎo) is used for describing inferior work or a shoddy product.

踏 (tà) means to step on, or to tread on. The bicyle, being a vehicle powered by on’e feet treading on the pedals, is called 脚踏车 (jiǎotàchē).

踢 (tī) means to kick. So, 踢踏舞 (tītàwǔ) is tap dance.

跳 (tiào) is to jump, leap, bounce or skip.

跳水 (tiàoshuǐ) is to spring for a dive, as from a diving board, or 跳板 (tiàobǎn).

跳伞 (tiàosǎn) is parachute jumping.

跳房子 (tiàofángzi) is the children’s game of hopscotch.

If your kid is smart, he or she might be able to skip a grade in school, or 跳级 (tiàojiǎo).

跳棋 (tiàoqí) is Chinese checkers. The action of playing chess or checkers is called 下棋 (xiàqí).

你喜欢下跳棋吗?
Nǐ xǐhuān xià tiàoqí ma?
Do you like to play Chinese checkers?

跳脚 (tiàojiǎo) means to stamp one’s foot, as in anger or frustration.

跳票 (tiàopiào) is to have a check bounced.

他开给我的支票跳票了.
Tā kāi gěi wǒ de zhīpiào tiàopiào le.
The check he wrote to me bounced.

捉 (zhuō) is to grasp, catch or capture. It features both the hand radical and the foot radical and is used in a similar way as 抓 (zhuā to snatch) but puts the emphasis on the catching rather than the grabbing.

警察捉到一个小偷.
Jǐngchá zhuō dào yī gè xiǎotōu.
The police caught a thief.