ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
踢
to kick
tī
15 strokes · ⻊ (foot radical) + 易 (easy/change, sound) · HSK 2
What 踢 is made of
𧾷 + 易 = 踢
𧾷foot (side form)
易easy / change
Where 踢 comes from
Another foot-radical action verb: ⻊ supplies the leg, 易 the sound. 易 alone means 'easy' — and 踢 is the easiest thing a foot does when a ball rolls into range.
踢 in Chinese culture
蹴鞠 cùjū, the Han-dynasty kicking game with a leather ball, is FIFA-recognized as football's oldest ancestor — Linzi in Shandong holds the certificate. Two millennia later 踢足球 remains the after-school default wherever there's an empty lot.
Example
踢足球 tī zúqiú — to play football
他每天下午踢足球。
Tā měitiān xiàwǔ tī zúqiú.
He plays football every afternoon.
How to remember it
A foot ⻊ finding it easy 易 — just KICK.
踢皮球 'kicking the ball around' is the standard idiom for bureaucrats passing responsibility back and forth — paperwork as football.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 踢
踢足球 tī zúqiú
to play football
踢球 tīqiú
to kick a ball
Related characters
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