下脚 (xià jiǎ) — to get a foothold, to plant one's foot (often in negative constructions); leftover bits and pieces (in material contexts)

Definition

Often used in negatives to mean 'find room to put one's foot down' (下不了脚, 连下脚的地方都没有). As a noun prefix 下脚料, it means 'leftover scraps' from cutting or processing material.

verb
to get a footholdto plant one's foot (often in negative constructions)leftover bits and pieces (in material contexts)

Examples

  • ，下脚。
    Fáng jiān lǐ duī mǎn le dōng xī, lián xià jiǎ de dì fāng dōu méi yǒu.
    The room is piled with stuff — there's no room to even stand.
  • ，。
    Dì tiě lǐ rén tài duō le, gēn běn xià bù liǎo jiǎo.
    The subway is so crowded you can't even get a foothold.
  • 下脚。
    Zhè xiē xià jiǎ liào hái néng yòng lái zuò xiǎo gōng yì pǐn.
    These leftover scraps can still be used to make small crafts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

下xiàput down
脚jiǎofoot

下 as put down and 脚 as foot give planting a foot; the foot or end can also mean leftover bits.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腳; 脚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body
Sound part声符shēngfú
卻
卻què腳jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腳 uses ⺼ for a body part and 卻 for the sound; the simplified 脚 is a later shorthand.

Open 脚 →

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