脚

腳

jiǎo, jué

却 + 月

HSK 2.0Level 3

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

jiǎo (noun) foot

jiǎo (noun) base (of an object)

jué (noun) role

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 却 represents the sound. Simplified form of 腳.

Semantic: ⺼ Phonetic: 却

About

脚 is the simplified form of 腳. It is a phonosemantic compound: the left side ⺼ (written as 月) means 'flesh' and marks it as a body part, while 却 on the right supplies the sound. In the traditional character 腳, the phonetic was 卻, which also conveyed the idea of retreating or stepping back, linking the feet to walking away. Over time 脚 replaced earlier words for 'foot' and extended to the base or bottom of things like walls and mountains.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的脚受伤了。

Wǒ de jiǎo shòushāng le.

My foot is injured.

他走路时脚疼。

Tā zǒulù shí jiǎo téng.

His foot hurts when he walks.

她的脚踝扭伤了。

Tā de jiǎohuái niǔshāng le.

Her ankle is sprained.

小孩子光着脚跑。

Xiǎo háizi guāngzhe jiǎo pǎo.

The child runs barefoot.

我每天泡脚缓解疲劳。

Wǒ měitiān pào jiǎo huǎnjiě píláo.

I soak my feet every day to relieve fatigue.

他的脚法很灵活。

Tā de jiǎofǎ hěn línghuó.

His footwork is very agile.

如果你脚冷，可以穿厚袜子。

Rúguǒ nǐ jiǎo lěng, kěyǐ chuān hòu wàzi.

If your feet are cold, you can wear thick socks.

运动员需要特别保护脚部避免受伤。

Yùndòngyuán xūyào tèbié bǎohù jiǎobù bìmiǎn shòushāng.

Athletes need to specially protect their feet to avoid injury.

Related Characters

Component: 却

Component: 月

脚