拳打脚踢 (quán dǎ jiǎo tī) — to punch and kick; to beat up violently

Definition

A vivid four-character idiom meaning to beat someone up violently with both fists and feet. Used to describe a harsh physical beating, not just any fight.

idiom
to punch and kickto beat up violently

Examples

  • 拳打脚踢，。
    Nà ge xiǎo tōu bèi lù rén quán dǎ jiǎo tī le yí dùn, rán hòu jiāo gěi le jǐng chá.
    That thief was beaten up by passersby and then handed over to the police.
  • ，拳打脚踢，。
    Diàn yǐng lǐ de dǎ dòu chǎng miàn hěn zhēn shí, liǎng gè rén hù xiāng quán dǎ jiǎo tī, kàn qǐ lái hěn téng.
    The fight scenes in the movie are very realistic — the two people are punching and kicking each other, and it looks painful.
  • 拳打脚踢，。
    Tā zài jiē shàng bèi rén quán dǎ jiǎo tī, xìng hǎo yǒu lù rén jí shí zhì zhǐ.
    He was being beaten up on the street, but fortunately some passersby stopped it in time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拳打fist strikes
拳quánfist打dǎstrike
主谓Subject + predicate
脚踢foot kicks
脚jiǎofoot踢tīkick
主谓Subject + predicate

拳打 and 脚踢 are parallel: fists strike and feet kick, meaning beat up.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
龹
龹龹拳quán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拳 pairs 手 (hand) with 龹 for sound. The hand part shows that the meaning is a form of hand, such as a fist.

Open 拳 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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.

Open 脚 →

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 →

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