蹒

蹣

pán

verb

Meanings

老人拄着拐杖，蹒跚地走在路上。

Lǎorén zhǔ zhe guǎizhàng, pánshān de zǒu zài lù shàng.

The old man hobbled slowly down the road with his cane.

幼儿迈出了蹒跚的第一步。

Yòu'ér mài chū le pánshān de dìyībù.

The toddler took his first staggering steps.

usage

蹒 is a bound character: it lives only in 蹒跚 (to limp, to walk unsteadily), used for the old, the injured, the drunk, or a learning toddler.

radical

足 zú

foot

The foot radical, marking 蹒 as a way of walking. It is why the character means an unsteady, hobbling gait rather than anything still.

phonetic

㒼 mán

even; full (phonetic element)

The right side supplies the sound, mán shifting to pán. The same phonetic appears in 满 (mǎn, full) and 瞒 (mán, to deceive).

蹒 pán