踵 (zhǒng): heel

Meanings

1 heel
2 to follow closely on someone's heels

Characters

踵

zhǒng

heel

Examples

前来参观的人接踵而至。

Qiánlái cānguān de rén jiēzhǒngérzhì.

Visitors arrived one after another in an unbroken stream.

他旋踵而去，头也不回。

Tā xuán zhǒng ér qù, tóu yě bù huí.

He turned on his heel and walked away without looking back.

Tips

usage

踵 means heel and is literary. Its most common home is 接踵而至 (to arrive one after another, treading on each other's heels).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot

The foot radical, the left-side action form. The heel is the back part of the foot, so the foot radical states the meaning of 踵 directly.

phonetic

重 zhòng

heavy; weight

Supplies the sound, here read zhǒng. The heavy meaning does not enter the word, only the reading, though the heel being the part that bears one's weight makes a useful mnemonic.

Stroke Order

踵 zhǒng

Related Words

接踵而至 jiēzhǒng'érzhì #24,627

to come one after another / to arrive in quick succession / to follow on each other's heels

不旋踵 bùxuánzhǒng

without turning the heel / in an instant, almost immediately / without retreating

接踵而来 jiēzhǒng'érlái #26,126

to come one after another / to follow in quick succession / to arrive in a continuous stream

摩肩接踵 mójiān-jiēzhǒng #71,593

shoulders rubbing, heels touching (idiom) / jam-packed with people / a thronging crowd

钉 dīng #3,336

nail; spike; stud / to follow closely; to stick to (somebody) / to keep at someone (to get them to do something)

跟进 gēnjìn #7,898

to follow up / to follow through on

沿 yán HSK 6 #8,078

along; to follow (a path, river, etc.) / to trace; to follow the course of

追踪 zhuīzōng HSK 7-9 #1,595

to track / to trace / to follow the trail of

注视 zhùshì HSK 5 #6,233

to gaze at; to stare at / to look attentively; to watch closely

跟着 gēnzhe #3,120

to follow / to go along with