Meaning of 足
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) foot; leg
- sufficient; ample
- as much as; fully
- excessive
How to use 足
As an adjective or adverb, 足 means enough or fully, often before a number to stress that the amount is large. It also appears in many fixed words like 足够 (zúgòu) and 满足 (mǎnzú). Example: 他足足等了两个小时。(Tā zúzú děng le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.) He waited a full two hours.
Picture 足 (zú) as a leg standing on the ground: the box 口 on top is the knee or kneecap, and the strokes below form the lower leg and a foot planted firmly. A body that stands on its own two feet is well supported, which links to the second meaning, sufficient.
Common mistake: Learners often use 足 alone for the body part foot in everyday speech, but the normal spoken word is 脚 (jiǎo). 足 for foot mostly shows up in compounds like 足球 (zúqiú) and in formal or written language.
足 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
足 zú · foot · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 足.
| 足够 | zúgòu | enough; sufficient |
| 满足 | mǎnzú | to satisfy; to meet (the needs of) |
| 足球 | zúqiú | soccer; football; a soccer ball; a football |
| 不足 | bùzú | insufficient; lacking |
| 十足 | shízú | ample; complete |
| 充足 | chōngzú | adequate; sufficient |
| 足以 | zúyǐ | sufficient to...; so much so that |
| 微不足道 | wēibùzúdào | (idiom) negligible; insignificant |
| 足迹 | zújì | footprint; track |
| 知足 | zhīzú | content with one's situation; to know contentment (hence happiness) |
| 无足轻重 | wúzú-qīngzhòng | insignificant |
| 立足 | lìzú | to stand; to have a footing |
Questions about 足
What does 足 mean?
足 (zú) means "(bound form) foot; leg; sufficient; ample" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 足?
足 is made of 1 character: 足 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 足 an HSK word?
Yes. 足 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 足足 mean before a number?
Doubled as 足足 (zúzú), it means a full or a whole and stresses that the amount is more than expected. For example, 足足三公斤 means a full three kilograms.
Why does 足 appear on the left side of characters like 跑 and 跳?
As a component, 足 changes shape slightly and marks characters related to feet and movement. Examples include 跑 (pǎo) to run, 跳 (tiào) to jump, and 路 (lù) road.