落脚 (luò jiǎo) — to stop over, to stay temporarily (during a tri…

Definition

落脚 means to stop over or put up somewhere briefly while traveling — the place you rest, not your destination. It is a separable verb: 落一下脚, 落了脚.

verb

to stop overto stay temporarily (during a trip)

落脚。
Wǒ men chū chāi shí zài yì jiā jiǔ diàn luò jiǎo.
We stopped over at a hotel during our business trip.
，。
Tā lù guò zhè ge chéng shì, zhī luò le yí yè jiǎo.
He passed through this city and only stayed one night.
落脚？
Nǐ qù shàng hǎi yǒu dì fāng luò jiǎo ma?
Do you have a place to stay when you go to Shanghai?

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

落luòput down

To 落 put down the 脚 foot means to settle temporarily.

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.

艹洛落

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

洛

Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

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.

Appears in