跑 pǎo — to run; to run away, to escape; to run around on business; (of a machine) to run
pǎo (third tone, dipping)
to run; to run away, to escape; to run around on business; (of a machine) to run
12 strokesRadical 足Frequency #547
Pinyin
- pǎo (third tone, dipping)
to run; to run away, to escape; to run around on business; (of a machine) to run
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿰⻊包The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- ⻊meaning partno entry yetThe foot radical 足 squeezed onto the left: knee, calf and footprint.
- 包sound partno entry yet包 bāo for the sound; it pictures an unborn child wrapped inside the body.
Mnemonic
A leg ⻊ with 包 for the sound. It took over the sense that 走 used to carry, so the pair now divides neatly: 走 to walk, 跑 to run. 跑步 is running as exercise, 跑来跑去 is dashing about, and 跑腿儿 — to run on legs — is doing errands for somebody else.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.