踩 (cǎi): to step on; to tread on

Meanings

1 to step on; to tread on
2 to trample; to stamp on

Characters

踩

cǎi

to step on; to tread

Examples

你踩到我的脚了！

Nǐ cǎi dào wǒ de jiǎo le!

You stepped on my foot!

别踩草地。

Bié cǎi cǎodì.

Don't step on the grass.

他踩着泥走过来。

Tā cǎi zhe ní zǒuguò lái.

He walked over stepping through the mud.

踩刹车！

Cǎi shāchē!

Hit the brakes!

Tips

usage

踩 vs 踏 (tà): Both mean 'to step on,' but 踩 is more colloquial and often implies accidentally stepping on something. 踏 is more literary and deliberate. Also: 踩刹车 (step on the brakes) and 踩油门 (step on the gas).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot

Left foot radical (in its compressed running-form). Originally a pictograph of a leg with a knee and a foot at the bottom. It supplies the meaning: an action done with the feet — to step on, tread, trample. The foot radical anchors a large step-and-walk family: 跑 (run), 跳 (jump), 跌 (stumble), 踏, 跨, 踩.

phonetic

采 cǎi

to pluck; gather

Right 采 supplies the sound — exact match cǎi with no drift. 采 itself shows a hand 爪 reaching down to a tree 木, picturing someone plucking fruit; that 'pluck' meaning is incidental here, read for sound. Same phonetic family includes 彩 (colour), 睬 (heed), 菜 (vegetable), 踩.