字の旅3,000 years in four forms
Oracle bone · ShangShang · c. 1200 BCE
Oracle bone: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
部首Radical · in Human Body & People
足 foot, leg
あしへん ashihen · side form of 足 あし ashi
7 strokesRadical of 11 kanjiPart of 12
Origin · sourced
Pictogram象形
Pictogram (象形) of a leg; similar to 疋.
Source: Wiktionary, 足 (rev. 93378193), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Step by step, the foot radical marches along! When you see these strokes on the left side of a kanji, think of walking, running, jumping, or any action that involves your legs. It brings the energy of movement and the physical distance of the journey to the characters it joins.”
Where it sits in a kanji
Indicates physical movement, traveling, actions performed with the legs/feet, or the concept of a path or journey.
What it grows into
- 路pathロ · じ
足 + 各sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 踏stepトウ · ふむ
足 + 沓sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 躍leapヤク · おどる
足 + 翟sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0