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踬 (traditional 躓) is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the semantic component 足 'foot' and the phonetic component 质 (simplified from 質). Its original meaning was to trip or stumble when walking, typically after catching one's foot on an obstacle. Over time, this concrete sense of physical stumbling extended figuratively to setbacks, failures, or sudden hindrances in one's career, plans, or life, equating the loss of physical balance with adversity.
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