踏进 (tà jìn) — to step into, to set foot in

Definition

踏进 (tàjìn) means to step into or set foot in a place, with a sense of crossing a threshold into somewhere new or significant — more literary than the everyday 走进, which simply means 'walk into'.

verb
to step intoto set foot in

Examples

  • 踏进，。
    Tā dì yī cì tà jìn zhè ge fáng jiān, gǎn dào fēi cháng jīng yà.
    The first time he stepped into this room, he felt very surprised.
  • 踏进，。
    Tā qīng qīng tà jìn huā yuán, shēng pà jīng dòng nà xiē xiǎo niǎo.
    She gently stepped into the garden, afraid of disturbing those little birds.
  • 踏进，。
    Wǒ men zhōng yú tà jìn nà zuò gǔ chéng, gǎn shòu lì shǐ de hòu zhòng.
    We finally set foot in that ancient city, feeling the weight of history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

踏tàtread
进jìnenter

踏 (tread) plus 进 (enter) describes stepping into a place.

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
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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

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