蹴

A phono-semantic compound:

足 (foot) — indicates action involving the foot (semantic component)

就 (to approach; to accomplish) — provides sound and nuance of decisive action (phonetic component)

The original sense is a forceful foot action, specifically striking or driving something away with the foot.

Core meanings:

- to kick (with the foot)

- to kick away; drive off

- to trample

- to spurn; reject contemptuously (figurative)

In modern Korean, 蹴 is mostly preserved in 축구, while native verbs like 차다 dominate everyday speech.

축구 (蹴球) — football, soccer (lit. “kicked ball”)

축타 (蹴打) — kicking and striking

축파 (蹴破) — to kick and break

축출 (蹴出) — to drive out forcibly (rare, literary)

蹴鞠 (축국 / cuju) was a popular sport from the Han dynasty onward.

The character 蹴 is thus central to the history of football in East Asia.

Because kicking is a deliberate and forceful act, 蹴 often implies intent, not accident.

Related foot-action characters:

踢 — to kick (colloquial, common in Mandarin)

踏 — to step on

踩 — to tread

躍 — to leap

Related characters (semantic field):

足 — foot (semantic root)

踢 — kick (everyday action)

踏 — step on (downward force)

就 — approach (phonetic source)

打 — strike (complementary action)

Classical citations:

Classical historical narrative style

「以足蹴之，示不屑也」

“He kicked it away with his foot, showing utter disdain.”

Here, 蹴 conveys both physical action and moral contempt.

Tang dynasty–style landscape poetry

「蹴石飛泉白如雪」

“Kicked stones send springs flying, white like snow.”

This illustrates dynamic motion and vivid imagery through 蹴.

Classical sports reference

「少年善蹴鞠」

“The youth excels at kicking the cuju ball.”

蹴 frequently appears in texts related to 蹴鞠 (cuju), the ancient Chinese ball game regarded as a predecessor of modern football.