About
The character 跟 is structurally composed of the semantic component 足, meaning foot, and the phonetic component 艮. Its earliest attested meaning was the heel of the foot, a concrete noun found in classical texts. From this nominal sense, it developed a verbal meaning of following closely or accompanying, conceptually extending from the idea of walking directly behind someone. This verb later grammaticalized into a preposition indicating association or accompaniment, which is its primary function in contemporary usage.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我跟你学习。
他经常跟我聊天。
请你跟我来。
我跟朋友看电影。
这个跟那个一样。
她不喜欢跟陌生人说话。
如果你跟我去，我就告诉你。
根据报告，公司需要跟上市场变化。