Definition
踩 (cǎi) is the everyday verb for stepping on or treading on something; it also means to press a pedal (e.g., 踩刹车) or to downvote online. It is more common in speech than 踏 (tà), which is more formal/literary and often appears in set phrases like 脚踏实地. Unlike 登 (dēng), which means to climb or ascend, 踩 simply means to place weight on a surface.
verb
to step onto tread onto press (a pedal)to pedalto downvote (online)
Easily confused
- 菜càilook-alikedish; vegetable; cuisine
- 才cáisound-alike(adverb, before quantity) only, merely
- 采cǎilook-aliketo pick, to pluck (flowers, fruit, tea)
- 才cáisound-aliketalent, ability
- 猜cāisound-aliketo guess
- 裁cáisound-aliketo cut (fabric, paper, etc.)
Examples
- 踩。Wǒ bù xiǎoxīn cǎi dào le yí kuài xiāngjiāo pí.I accidentally stepped on a banana peel.
- 踩。Tā shǐjìn cǎi le yíxià shāchē.He pressed the brake hard.
- 踩。Zhège huídá bèi hěn duō rén cǎi le.This answer was downvoted by many people.
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