by Caren Zuo


One feet is followed by another. Then it means step forward. You will find the foot that characterized by toes was later transformed into the character "止"。There are some changes between the above and the below of the the regular script of the character "步".

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by Caren Zuo



It is easier to learn the 走 after we learn the character “大” and “止”。 It can be divided into two parts. The part above is "大", which is a picture of a human, while the part below is the characer 止，symbol of "toes". The regular script of the character “走”has changed the above into the character "土"，for no reasons. Anyway, it is clear for us to judge its meaning from the part below, that it has something to do with feet or leg. The character “走”means "walk".  

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by Caren Zuo



There is something like a "口" on the above. It definitely has nothing to do with a "mouth". Actualy the character "口" represents many thing in ancient times. Here some think that it means one's knees. The part below is the picture of one's toes. The character "足" refer to the parts from one's knees to one's toes. They are "legs".

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by Caren Zuo


The first is oracle script, picturing toes of a person, hence it means "toes".We have learned the character "出", (see piectures below) which means that one's stepping out of the threshold of a house. The above part of the character "出" （especially its oracle script） is the same as the oracle script of the character "止".

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by Caren Zuo

去  ( qù )

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by Caren Zuo

出 （chū）




Its regular script (the last one) gives us little leads on its original meaning. Actualy it is a up-down construction. Take the oracle script (the first one), The part on the above is something like a toe of a foot, while the part below draws a threshold. The character originally means that one's feet is stepping out of the freshhold, namly one is leaving his house. Now the character has changed into double "山" stand in a column.

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by Caren Zuo

半 （bàn）

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by Caren Zuo

分 （fēn）



分= 八 （a semantic part meaning separating or getting away from）+

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