Meaning of 跟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- heel
- to follow closely
- to go with
- (of a woman) to marry sb
- with
- compared with
- to
- towards
How to use 跟
In everyday speech 跟 most often means "with" or "and", linking people who do something together, usually with 一起 (yìqǐ). It also marks who you talk to, as in 跟他说 (gēn tā shuō), "tell him." Example: 我跟朋友一起吃饭。(Wǒ gēn péngyou yìqǐ chīfàn.) I eat with my friends.
跟 has the foot radical 足 on the left and 艮 (gèn) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture your foot staying right at someone's heel as you follow them closely.
Common mistake: Learners often use 跟 to join two sentences or verbs, like "I sing 跟 dance," but 跟 only links nouns or people. Use 还 (hái) or 也 (yě) for actions instead. Also do not confuse 跟 with 根 (gēn, root), which has the tree radical 木 instead of the foot radical.
跟 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.
跟 gēn · heel · 13 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 跟.
| 跟随 | gēnsuí | to follow |
| 高跟鞋 | gāogēnxié | high-heeled shoes |
| 跟前 | gēnqián | the front (of); (in) front |
| 跟踪 | gēnzōng | to follow sb's tracks; to tail |
| 跟上 | gēnshang | to catch up with; to keep pace with |
| 跟不上 | gēn bu shàng | not able to keep up with |
| 跟着 | gēnzhe | to follow after; immediately afterwards |
| 跟进 | gēnjìn | to follow; to follow up |
| 跟班 | gēnbān | attendant; footman (servant) |
| 脚跟 | jiǎogēn | heel |
| 紧跟 | jǐngēn | to follow precisely; to comply with |
| 鞋跟 | xiégēn | heel (of a shoe) |
Questions about 跟
What does 跟 mean?
跟 (gēn) means "heel; to follow closely" and is used as a preposition, conjunction and verb.
How do you write 跟?
跟 is made of 1 character: 跟 (13 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 跟 an HSK word?
Yes. 跟 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 跟 and 和?
Both can mean "and" or "with" between nouns, and they are often interchangeable. 跟 sounds more colloquial and is common in northern speech, while 和 is neutral and more common in writing.
How do you use 跟 to compare things?
Use the pattern A 跟 B 一样 (yíyàng) to say A is the same as B. For example, 我跟你一样高 (wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo) means "I am as tall as you."