蓬头跣足

蓬頭跣足

péngtóuxiǎnzú

idiom

Meanings

1 with disheveled hair and bare feet
2 unkempt and barefoot
3 in a wretched, ragged state

Characters

disheveled; like a bush

Examples

他从火场冲出来，蓬头跣足，狼狈不堪。

Tā cóng huǒchǎng chōng chūlái, péngtóuxiǎnzú, lángbèi bùkān.

He rushed out of the fire, hair wild and feet bare, in utter disarray.

战乱中难民蓬头跣足，沿路乞讨。

Zhànluàn zhōng nànmín péngtóuxiǎnzú, yán lù qǐtǎo.

During the war, refugees wandered hair-tousled and barefoot, begging along the road.

Tips

memory

蓬 evokes a 'tangled bush', 跣 means 'barefoot' — picture someone who has just escaped disaster: hair like a bird's nest, no shoes on. Variants: 披头跣足, 蓬头赤脚.

Stroke Order

蓬 péng

头 tóu

跣 xiǎn

足 zú