Learn a Chinese Character - 脚

1. Character Basics

Radical: 月/肉 (moon/meat radical), often used for body parts

Stroke Count: 11

Stroke Order:

2. Pronunciation

Pinyin: jiǎo (third tone)

3. Meaning

Foot; leg; base; bottom; foundation; the lower part of something

4. Common Words

• 脚 (jiǎo) - foot, leg

  我昨天走路走太多，脚很疼。

  I walked too much yesterday, and my feet hurt.

• 脚步 (jiǎobù) - footsteps, pace

  我听见他的脚步声从远处传来。

  I heard his footsteps coming from far away.

• 脚尖 (jiǎojiān) - tiptoe

  她踮着脚尖走进房间。

  She walked into the room on tiptoe.

• 脚本 (jiǎoběn) - script (for film, play, etc.)

  他正在写电影脚本。

  He is writing a movie script.

• 山脚 (shānjiǎo) - foot of a mountain

  我们在山脚下搭帐篷。

  We set up tents at the foot of the mountain.

• 手脚 (shǒujiǎo) - hands and feet, tricks

  小孩子喜欢动动手脚。

  Little children like to move their hands and feet.

5. Grammar & Usage

The character 脚 is a noun that primarily refers to the foot or leg. It is commonly used in everyday conversation to talk about body parts or the lower part of objects.

Common grammatical patterns with 脚 include:

• 身体部位 + 脚: 左脚 (left foot), 右脚 (right foot), 双脚 (both feet)
• 动词 + 脚: 洗脚 (wash feet), 踢足球 (play football/soccer), 跺脚 (stomp one's foot)
• 脚 + 形容词: 脚大 (big feet), 脚小 (small feet), 脚疼 (foot pain)
• 脚 + 量词: 一只脚 (one foot), 两只脚 (two feet)

脚 can also be used metaphorically to refer to the base or foundation of something, as in 山脚 (foot of a mountain) or 墙脚 (foot of a wall).

6. Cultural Background

In Chinese culture, the feet have special significance in various contexts:

• Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the importance of foot health, with practices like foot massage (足疗 zúliáo) and foot soaking (泡脚 pàojiǎo) believed to promote overall well-being.
• In ancient China, foot binding was a practice that involved tightly wrapping the feet of young girls to modify their shape, though this practice was banned in the early 20th century.
• There are many Chinese idioms involving feet, such as 脚踏实地 (jiǎotàshídì), which means "down-to-earth" or "practical," and 笨手笨脚 (bènshǒubènjiǎo), which describes someone who is clumsy.
• The Chinese martial arts (武术 wǔshù) place great importance on footwork (步法 bùfǎ) as a foundation for balance and movement.

Today, foot care and comfort continue to be valued in Chinese culture, with a wide variety of traditional and modern foot care practices.

7. Example Sentence

8. Memory Tips

The character 脚 (jiǎo) can be broken down into two parts:

• The left part is 月 (yuè), which here represents the meat/body radical (肉 ròu). This radical is often used in characters related to body parts.
• The right part is 却 (què), which provides the pronunciation clue.

To remember this character:

1. Associate the 月 (body) radical with the fact that 脚 refers to a body part (foot/leg).
2. Visualize a person's foot while writing or thinking about the character.
3. Connect the character to common phrases or idioms like 脚踏实地 (down-to-earth) to reinforce your memory.
4. Pay attention to the stroke order, especially the curved lines in the 月 radical and the complex structure of the right part.