蹈 (dǎo) — to tread, to step on; to dance
Definition
蹈 (dǎo) means 'to tread or step on'; it is almost never used alone — it appears mainly in set phrases like 赴汤蹈火 ('go through fire and water') and 重蹈覆辙 ('repeat the same mistake'). The 'dance' sense is an old/literary extension of 'treading the feet'.
verb
to treadto step onto dance
Examples
- 。Tā shì yì míng zhuān yè de wǔ dǎo yǎn yuán.She is a professional dancer.
- 。Tā jué xīn fù tāng dǎo huǒ.He is determined to go through fire and water.
- 。Wǒ men yào bì miǎn chóng dǎo fù zhé.We must avoid repeating the same mistake.
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.
蹈 is made of 足, a foot, and 舀; the foot part shows it is about foot actions, and 舀 gives the sound.
Appears in
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