jiǎo
noun HSK 2 #813

Measure Word

zhī

Meanings

  1. 1 foot
  2. 2 leg (of an animal or object)
  3. 3 base (of an object)
  4. 4 classifier for kicks

Examples

Wǒ de jiǎo hěn téng.
My feet hurt.
光着走路
Tā guāngzhe jiǎo zǒulù.
He walks barefoot.
Tā hěnhěn de tī le qiú yī jiǎo.
He gave the ball a fierce kick.

Tips

usage
Common body-part compounds: 脚趾 (toes), 脚踝 (ankle), 脚跟 (heel), 脚步 (footstep), 脚印 (footprint). Measure with for one foot or for a pair.
register
An archaic reading survives only in 脚色 (theatrical role), a variant of the far more common 角色. Modern writing almost always uses 角色; treat as jiǎo everywhere else.

Components

radical
yuè
flesh (here: ⺼ side-form)
Left radical written as but functioning as ⺼, the side-form of 'flesh.' Marks as a body part, same flesh family as (face), (leg), (arm).
phonetic
què
step back; however
Right phonetic supplies the sound (què → jiǎo, with initial drift; the link is tighter to the older reading ). itself shows 'go' beside 'kneeling figure' — a person stepping back, a happy semantic echo of feet in motion.

Stroke Order

jiǎo