踩高跷 (cǎi gāo qiāo) — to walk on stilts | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to walk on stilts' — usually used in cultural and festival contexts like temple fairs. The verb 踩 can also mean to step on (踩) in general usage.

verb

to walk on stilts

Examples

踩高跷。
Tā xǐ huan zài miào huì shàng cǎi gāo qiāo.
He likes to walk on stilts at temple fairs.
，。
Tā cǎi guò yí cì gāo qiāo, jué de hěn nán.
He walked on stilts once and found it difficult.
踩高跷。
cǎi gāo qiāo Xū yào hěn hǎo de píng héng néng lì.
Walking on stilts requires good balance.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

高跷stilts

高gāohigh跷qiāoraised foot

偏正Modifier + head

踩 means to tread, while 高跷 are high stilts, so the action is walking on them.

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

采

Same sound today

踩 combines 足, a foot, with 采 for its sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

高 was drawn as a tall building.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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