跛

bǒ

皮 + 𧾷

Frequency#3873

Definitions

bǒ to limp; lame; crippled

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 足 represents the meaning and 皮 represents the sound.

Semantic: 足 Phonetic: 皮

About

The character 跛, meaning lame or limping, is formed with the semantic component 足, which refers to the foot, and the phonetic component 皮. This structure links the character's meaning to a physical condition affecting the foot, and its etymology emphasizes this association through the foot radical. Historically, 跛 has been used to denote an impairment in walking, and its application in texts has focused on describing a gait disrupted by injury or deformity. The character's composition, with 足 and 皮, has been stable in its orthography, reflecting its functional role in representing lameness without significant semantic shift.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他的脚有点跛。

Tā de jiǎo yǒu diǎn bǒ.

His foot is a bit lame.

那个跛脚的人走得很慢。

Nàge bǒjiǎo de rén zǒu de hěn màn.

That lame person walks very slowly.

他因车祸而跛了一条腿。

Tā yīn chēhuò ér bǒ le yī tiáo tuǐ.

He became lame in one leg due to a car accident.

即使跛了，他也没有放弃梦想。

Jíshǐ bǒ le, tā yě méiyǒu fàngqì mèngxiǎng.

Even though he became lame, he did not give up his dream.

这次受伤可能导致他永久性跛行。

Zhè cì shòushāng kěnéng dǎozhì tā yǒngjiǔxìng bǒxíng.

This injury may cause him to limp permanently.

这位将军在战场上负伤，从此走路微跛。

Zhè wèi jiāngjūn zài zhànchǎng shàng fùshāng, cóngcǐ zǒulù wēi bǒ.

The general was wounded on the battlefield and has walked with a slight limp ever since.

那只跛足的小狗依然快乐地摇着尾巴。

Nà zhī bǒ zú de xiǎo gǒu yīrán kuàilè de yáo zhe wěiba.

The little dog with a lame leg still wags its tail happily.

不要嘲笑他人的身体缺陷，比如口吃或者跛行。

Bùyào cháoxiào tārén de shēntǐ quēxiàn, bǐrú kǒuchī huòzhě bǒxíng.

Do not mock others' physical disabilities, such as stuttering or limping.

Related Characters

Component: 皮

Component: 𧾷

跛