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跖

zhí
noun #49,016

Meanings

  1. 1 the sole of the foot; metatarsus (literary)
  2. 2 to tread on; to step (classical)

Examples

盗跖是庄子笔下的大盗形象。
Dào Zhí shì Zhuāngzǐ bǐxià de dà dào xíngxiàng.
Robber Zhi is the archetypal bandit in the Zhuangzi.

Tips

history
跖 is not used independently in modern Chinese (anatomy now uses 跖骨 'metatarsal' as a technical term). It is best known from 盗跖, the legendary brigand in the 庄子. It joins the foot radical 足 with the phonetic 石.
register
Literary and technical; survives mainly in the anatomical term 跖骨 and classical names, not in everyday speech.

Components

radical
足 zú
foot
The foot radical 足 on the left marks the meaning: a part of the foot — the sole — and by extension treading.
phonetic
石 shí
stone
Supplies the sound (reading shifted from shí to zhí). It is purely phonetic, carrying none of its 'stone' meaning.

Stroke Order

跖 zhí