The Chinese character 足
And its component form
足
zú
- foot
- to be sufficient
- ample
The Chinese character 足 contains the component 口 kǒu, mouth. Can you spot it?
足 is both a character and a character component
足 can frequently be found used as a meaning component in a Chinese character. You’ll find the Chinese character component 足 in characters related to feet and actions that have to do with walking.
These characters all contain 足:
When used as a component, 足 can also appear in words related to its second meaning: to be sufficient; enough; ample.
The component 足 is usually easy to spot, and even if it’s more often used in words related with walking, it can be used to express sufficiency.
To be sufficient; enough; ample
You can find it in expressions and words meaning this in words like:
足够了 zúgòule: that’s enough
足以 zúyǐ: sufficient
满足 mǎnzú: to satisfy; to meet the needs of
Do you see what meaning 足 brings in these expressions?
You’ll also find the meaning component 足 in many other Chinese characters. Browse the full list here.
All 80,000+ Chinese characters share the same character components. Character components are therefore essential for Chinese learners: they are the building blocks of Chinese. Character components help tremendously with understanding a character: they provide information on its meaning or on its pronunciation. In short, knowing character components will help you analyse, learn and remember each Chinese character much better.
Join us on Ninchanese as we teach you everything about the Chinese character components you need to know, little by little.