蹚 (tāng): to wade (through water or mud)

Meanings

1 to wade (through water or mud)
2 to trample (a path)
3 to get involved in (figurative)

Characters

蹚

tāng

to wade / to trample

Examples

他蹚过小河去捡球。

Tā tāng guò xiǎohé qù jiǎn qiú.

He waded across the stream to fetch the ball.

这件事我可不想蹚浑水。

Zhè jiàn shì wǒ kěbù xiǎng tāng húnshuǐ.

I really don't want to wade into this murky business.

Tips

usage

蹚 literally describes pushing through water, mud, or tall grass. The set phrase 蹚浑水 (tāng húnshuǐ, 'wade in muddy water') is figurative - it means getting mixed up in a messy or shady situation.

memory

The 足 (foot) radical on the left tells you it's something done with the feet, while 堂 on the right gives the sound. Picture stepping into a hall (堂) with wet feet (足).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot

Left foot radical - a pictograph showing the lower leg above and the footprint below. The indexing radical, anchors 蹚 in the family of foot-action verbs: 跑 run, 跳 jump, 踢 kick, 跟 follow, 踩 step on. Marks 蹚 as a way of moving with the feet - specifically wading through water or trampling a path.

phonetic

堂 táng

hall; main room

Right 堂 supplies the sound - táng exactly, just retoned to tāng. Pure phonetic role; the 'hall' meaning contributes nothing semantically. Same phonetic family: 趟 a trip / measure word for trips, 倘 if, 淌 to flow down. The trip-related cousins (趟, 淌) hint at why 蹚 acquired its 'to wade across' sense - all involve directed forward movement.