脚尖 (jiǎo jiān) — tip of a toe; on tiptoe (as in standing or walk…

Definition

noun

tip of a toeon tiptoe (as in standing or walking on the balls of the feet)

，。
Tā diǎn qǐ jiǎo jiān, xiǎng kàn kàn qiáng nà biān de fēng jǐng.
She stood on tiptoe to see the view on the other side of the wall.
，脚尖。
Tiào wǔ shí, jiǎo jiān yào yòng lì zhī chēng shēn tǐ.
When dancing, you need to support your body with the tips of your toes.
脚尖。
Tā qīng qīng yòng jiǎo jiān pèng le pèng dì shàng de qiú.
He gently touched the ball on the ground with the tips of his toes.

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.

“脚” (foot) specifies the kind of “尖” (tip), giving the tip of a toe.

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.

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.

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

小大尖

尖 puts 小 (small) above 大 (large), showing the width of an object gradually changing from small to large.

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