蹩 (bié): to limp

Meanings

1 to limp
2 to sprain (an ankle or wrist)
3 to scurry; to slip aside (colloquial, northern dialect)

Characters

蹩

bié

to limp; to sprain

Examples

他蹩了脚，走路一瘸一拐。

Tā bié le jiǎo, zǒulù yīqué yīguǎi.

He sprained his foot and walks with a limp now.

他的普通话说得很蹩脚。

Tā de pǔtōnghuà shuō de hěn biéjiǎo.

His Mandarin is awful — really substandard.

Tips

usage

Best known in 蹩脚 — literally 'limping foot,' but used figuratively to mean 'poor-quality, clumsy, second-rate,' as in 蹩脚货 (shoddy goods) or 蹩脚 English (broken English).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot

Bottom 足 is the foot radical, fixing the meaning on the leg and foot: limping, spraining, hobbling. Same family as 跛 lame and 跌 to trip.

phonetic

敝 bì

worn-out; ragged

Top 敝 supplies the sound (bì → bié) and a fitting tinge of 'worn-out, broken-down,' matching a damaged, limping foot. Same phonetic in 弊 malpractice and 蔽 to cover.