走 zǒu — to walk, to go on foot; to leave, to go away; to move, to run (of a machine); to visit
zǒu (third tone, dipping)
to walk, to go on foot; to leave, to go away; to move, to run (of a machine); to visit
7 strokesRadical 走Frequency #146
Pinyin
- zǒu (third tone, dipping)
to walk, to go on foot; to leave, to go away; to move, to run (of a machine); to visit
Character breakdown
- 止meaning partno entry yetThe footprint at the bottom: the sole and the toes.
- 走shape partThe upper part is not 土 but a running figure with the arms swinging, worn down by the brush. The whole graph is one picture and heads its own dictionary section.
Mnemonic
A running figure above a footprint 止. In classical Chinese the word meant "to run" — that older sense survives in 走狗 and in the Japanese reading — and the modern word for running moved to 跑. Two everyday uses to keep apart: 走路 is to walk, and a bare 我走了 means "I’m off", not "I am walking".
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.