marks words about feet · Kangxi radical 157

marks words about feet, legs, and the actions of walking, stepping, kicking and stumbling

足 is a picture of a leg with its foot: the 口-like box at the top is the knee or lower leg, and the 止 shape beneath it is a footprint, showing the toes and heel. The two halves are still visible in the modern character, stacked exactly as the leg sits on the foot. On the left side of a character 足 is squeezed narrow, with the bottom stroke swinging out as a hook, as in 跟 (heel), 趾 (toe) and 跨 (to step across). In 促 and 捉 it lost its foot meaning and just supplies the sound.

足 at a glance

Meaning
marks words about feet
Strokes
7
Characters
124
Role
Contributes meaning
Kangxi radical
157

Characters with 足 (101 of 124)

HSK 2 · 3

HSK 3 · 1

HSK 4 · 1

HSK 5 · 4

HSK 6 · 14

Beyond HSK · 78

bào · jumpdǔn · wholesale趿 · see 趿拉[ta1 la5]zhuó · (coll.) to drench · instep; tarsusjiǎn · (bound form) callus · footqiàng · staggerzhǐ · toe · postscript · to limp · instepjiā · to sit cross-legged · movepáo · (of an animal) to paw (the ground)shān · used in 蹣跚|蹒跚[pan2 shan1]tái · to trample, to kicktuó · to stumblezhí · metatarsus · to clear streets when emperor tours · to stumbleduò · variant of 跺[duo4] · (literary) to ascend; to climb; to mountjiāo · a tumblekuǐ · briefqiāo · to raise one's footqióng · sound of footstepsxiān · to manner of dancingxiǎn · barefooted · kneelliáng · used in 跳踉[tiao4 liang2]chì · walk with one leg · (literary) to tumble; to fall downchí · used in 踟躕|踟蹰[chi2 chu2]chuō · to get aheadchuò · used in 齷齪|龌龊[wo4 chuo4]diǎn · to stand on tiptoehuái · anklejiàn · used in 踺子[jian4 zi5] · leather ball · to be based uponqiè · to walk with small stepszhí · used in 躑躅|踯躅[zhi2 zhu2]zhì · to stumblechǎng · to squat; to sitchuài · to kickcuō · to error · to kickdié · to tread onduó · to pace; to stroll · hunchbackedpián · to limpróu · trample · hoofzhǒng · to arrivejiǎn · lameniè · to walk on tiptoepán · used in 蹣跚|蹒跚[pan2 shan1] · used in 蹊蹺|蹊跷[qi1 qiao1]bié · to limp · to knit (one's brows)qiāng · (manner of walking)tāng · to wadezāo · see 蹧蹋[zao1 ta4]cèng · to rub againstchú · used in 踟躕|踟蹰[chi2 chu2] · carefully蹿cuān · to leap updèng · used in 蹭蹬[ceng4 deng4]cún · (dialect) to sprain one's foot or leg due to a sudden impact or landingfán · paws of animaljué · to stumble · web (of feet of ducks, frogs etc)zhú · used in 躑躅|踯躅[zhi2 zhu2]lìn · used in 蹂躪|蹂躏[rou2 lin4]chán · (literary) animal tracksliè · step acrosszuān · to jump

Frequently asked questions

What does the component 足 mean?

足 means "marks words about feet". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.

How many Chinese characters contain 足?

124 characters in this dictionary contain 足, including ones at HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.

Is 足 a radical?

Yes — 足 is Kangxi radical 157, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.

How many strokes does 足 have?

足 is written in 7 strokes.