后跟 (hòu gēn) — heel (of a shoe or sock)

Definition

noun

heel (of a shoe or sock)

Examples

后跟，。
Zhè shuāng xié de hòu gēn tài gāo le, wǒ bù xí guàn.
The heels of these shoes are too high; I'm not used to it.
后跟。
Wǒ de wà zi hòu gēn mó pò le.
The heel of my sock is worn through.
后跟。
Tā xǐ huan chuān dī hòu gēn de pí xié.
He likes to wear leather shoes with low heels.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

后hòuback

跟gēnheel

The 跟, heel, at the 后, back, of a shoe.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

幺幺yāothread
夊夊suīfoot

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn跟gēn

Same sound today

跟 is built from 足 (foot) plus 艮. The 足 part ties the character to foot-related senses, while 艮 gives the sound.

Open 跟 →

Appears in

Footwear & Accessories