脚趾 (jiǎo zhǐ) — toe | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

toe

Measure word · 只

，脚趾。
Tā pǎo bù de shí hou bù xiǎo xīn tī dào le shí tou, jiǎo zhǐ shòu shāng le.
He accidentally kicked a stone while running and hurt his toe.
脚趾，。
Wǒ de jiǎo zhǐ yǒu diǎn yǎng, kě néng shì bèi wén zi dīng le.
My toe is a bit itchy; maybe I was bitten by a mosquito.
，脚趾。
Chuān xié zi de shí hou yào xiǎo xīn, bié jiā dào jiǎo zhǐ.
Be careful when putting on shoes so you don't pinch your 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 means foot, and 趾 means toe, together giving 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.

趾 combines 足 (foot) with 止, which meant foot and supplied the sound; the earliest written form was 止.

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