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徒步 (tú bù) — on foot; by walking (especially for long-distance travel or hiking)

Definition

Means 'on foot, by walking', usually for longer trips or hiking rather than short everyday walks. Often pairs with 旅行, 穿越, or a destination: 徒步去西藏, 徒步旅行.

adverb
on footby walking (especially for long-distance travel or hiking)

Examples

  • 徒步。
    Wǒ dǎ suàn míng nián tú bù qù xī zàng.
    I plan to go to Tibet on foot next year.
  • 徒步，。
    tú bù Lǚ xíng suī rán xīn kǔ, dàn néng kàn dào zuì měi de fēng jǐng.
    Although hiking is tiring, you can see the most beautiful scenery.
  • 徒步。
    Tā men yòng le yí gè yuè tú bù chuān yuè le zhěng piàn sēn lín.
    They spent a month walking across the entire forest.

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.

徒túon foot
步bùwalk

徒步 combines 徒 'on foot' with 步 'walk', giving the idea of traveling by walking rather than by vehicle.

Characters in this word

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →

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

步 uses two 止 (foot) forms, one reversed, to show one foot stepping in front of the other.

Open 步 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Outdoor Recreation

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