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踢踏舞 (tī tà wǔ) — tap dance

Definition

noun
tap dance
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 踢踏舞。
    Wǒ zuì jìn zài xué tī tà wǔ.
    I've been learning tap dance recently.
  • 踢踏舞。
    tī tà wǔ De jié zòu fēi cháng qīng kuài.
    The rhythm of tap dance is very lively.
  • 踢踏舞。
    Tā de tī tà wǔ tiào dé tè bié hǎo.
    Her tap dancing is really good.

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.

踢踏kick and step
踢tīkick踏tàstep
联合Coordinate
舞wǔdance

The 舞 dance is made of 踢 kicks and 踏 steps.

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
易
易yì踢tī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

踢 uses 足 (foot) to show the action is done with the foot, and 易 to give the sound.

Open 踢 →

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
沓
沓tà踏
Same sound today

踏 has 足 (foot) as its left part to show a foot-related meaning, and 沓 as its right part to give the sound.

Open 踏 →

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
舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú舞wǔ
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →
Appears in
Dance & Performance

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