踵 (zhǒng) — (bound form) heel (of the foot); (bound form) to follow; to come right after; (bound form, formal) to go in person; to inherit or carry on
Definition
A literary, bound-form noun and verb meaning 'heel' and, by extension, 'to follow right after' or 'to carry on' — found mostly in set phrases like 接踵而至. Not used in everyday speech.
bound form
heel (of the foot)to followto come right after(bound form, formal) to go in personto inherit or carry on
Examples
- ，。Yóu kè jiē zhǒng ér zhì, jǐng qū shí fēn yōng jǐ.Tourists came one after another, making the scenic area very crowded.
- 踵，。Dì tiě zhàn nèi mó jiān jiē zhǒng, shí fēn fán máng.Inside the subway station, people jostled shoulder to shoulder; it was very busy.
- ，踵。Tā zài gōng sī jì chéng fù yè, zhǒng shì zēng huá.He took over his father's business at the company and improved upon it.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
The left part 足 shows it is about a foot, and the right part 重 gives the sound.
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