踪 (zōng) — footprint, track, trace (bound morpheme, used only in compounds)

Definition

踪 is a bound morpheme meaning 'trace/track' that only appears in compounds like 跟踪 ('to tail, track'), 踪迹 ('trace, trail'), and 踪影 ('sign, trace'). Standalone it carries no meaning on its own.

bound form
footprinttracktrace (bound morpheme, used only in compounds)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Jǐng fāng yì zhí zài gēn zōng zhè ge xián yí rén.
    The police have been tracking this suspect all along.
  • ，。
    Nà ge hái zi zuó tiān zǒu shī le, zhì jīn réng rán zōng jì bù míng.
    That child went missing yesterday and is still untraced.
  • 。
    Wǒ men zài xuě dì shàng fā xiàn le dòng wù de zōng yǐng.
    We found traces of animals in the snow.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
宗
宗zōng踪zōng
Same sound today

踪 pairs 足, a foot, with 宗, which gives the sound zōng.

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