• foot, leg;

It also carries meanings related to “to be enough” or “to be satisfied,” as in the word 만족 (滿足), meaning “satisfaction” or “to be satisfied.”

Etymology

The character 足 (족) broadly refers to the entire foot, but more specifically, it can denote the area below the ankle (around the ankle bone).

The 口 part represents the area below the knee, and 止 depicts the foot itself, so the overall shape symbolizes the region from the knee to the front of the foot.

Its meaning extends to include animal feet, the base of a vessel or container, and even the foot of a mountain. Additionally, it conveys meanings related to sufficiency or being enough (충족하다, 족하다).

Usage in Korean

When used as a radical, it generally relates to the lower leg, foot movements, or the state of the foot.

When placed on the left side (좌변) of a character, it transforms into the variant form 𧾷.

Examples of characters using this radical include:

路 (길 로, "road")

跡 (발자취 적, "trace, footprint")

跳 (뛸 도, "to jump")

躍 (뛸 약, "to leap")

踏 (밟을 답, "to step on")

蹴 (찰 축, "to kick")

Interestingly, many characters with this radical have meanings related to actions like kicking, stepping, or trampling, which often carry negative or forceful connotations.

Alternative forms

  • 𧾷the left radical form of 足;

Characters with

  • to be distant, distance, spur on a bird’s leg, toenail/cockspur thorn;
  • footprint, trace, remains;
  • road, path, way;
  • to step on, to tread, to practice, to put into effect;
bal
jok
Kangxi radical:157
Strokes:7
Unicode:U+8DB3
Cangjie input:
  • 口卜人 (RYO)
Composition:
  • ⿱ 口 龰
Writing order
足 Writing order

Neighboring radicals in the dictionary

References