踵 (zhǒng) · heel, to follow closely on someone's heels

Meanings

1 heel
2 to follow closely on someone's heels

Characters

踵

zhǒng

heel

Examples

HSK 5

前来参观的人接踵而至。

Qiánlái cānguān de rén jiēzhǒng'érzhì.

Visitors arrived one after another in an unbroken stream.

HSK 7-9

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 HSK 7-9 #7,898

to follow up / to follow through on

沿 yán HSK 5 #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 7-9 #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