跟 (gēn): follow, heel
跟 (gēn) is a Chinese character meaning “follow, heel.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 足 (semantic) and 艮 (phonetic). It ranks #541 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 跟 foot. Its radical form 足 (foot) appears in many related characters such as 跑 (pǎo, to run), 路 (lù, road), 足 (zú, foot).
Definitions
- follow, heel
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 跟 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 跟
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 跟踪verb | gēn zōng | to follow sb's tracks | 6 |
| 跟随verb | gēn suí | to follow | 6 |
| 跟前noun | gēn qián | the front (of) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 跟着 | gēn zhe | to follow after |
| 高跟鞋 | gāo gēn xié | high-heeled shoes |
| 跟进 | gēn jìn | to follow |
| 跟班 | gēn bān | attendant |
| 跟不上 | gēn bu shàng | not able to keep up with |
| 紧跟 | jǐn gēn | to follow precisely |
| 鞋跟 | xié gēn | heel (of a shoe) |
| 脚跟 | jiǎo gēn | heel |
| 跟头 | gēn tou | tumble |
| 后跟 | hòu gēn | heel (part of a foot) |
| 脚后跟 | jiǎo hòu gēn | heel |
| 翻跟头 | fān gēn tou | to turn a somersault |
| 跟斗 | gēn dou | somersault |
| 跟上 | gēn shàng | to catch up with |
| 摔跟头 | shuāi gēn tou | to fall |
跟 appears in 48 compound words: 60 as the first character, 17 as the last, and 23 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 跟 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
请跟我来，我带你去会议室。
Qǐng gēn wǒ lái, wǒ dài nǐ qù huìyìshì.
Please follow me; I'll take you to the meeting room.
黄榕外貌有变否认做医美疗程 开心被网民指跟阿仪越来越似 黄夏蕙等收遗产开老人院
huáng 榕 wài mào yǒu biàn fǒu rèn zuò yī měi liáo chéng kāi xīn bèi wǎng mín zhǐ gēn ā yí yuè lái yuè sì huáng xià 蕙 děng shōu yí chǎn kāi lǎo rén yuàn
Huang Rong's appearance has changed, denying medical aesthetic treatment, and is happy to be pointed out by netizens that he is becoming more and more similar to Ah Yi, and Huang Xiahui and others have received an inheritance to open a nursing home
韩马利中山大宅跟北方煮锅贴过年 圈中老公杜燕歌系清朝皇族...
hán mǎ lì zhōng shān dà zhái gēn běi fāng zhǔ guō tiē guò nián juān zhōng lǎo gōng dù yān gē xì qīng cháo huáng zú . . .
Han Mali's Zhongshan Mansion and the north cook potstickers for the New Year, and her husband Du Yange in the circle is a member of the Qing Dynasty royal family...
...马洲5只狗疑中毒亡警方列“残酷对待动物”跟进
. . . mǎ zhōu 5 zhī gǒu yí zhōng dú wáng jǐng fāng liè cán kù duì dài dòng wù gēn jìn
... 5 dogs in Ma Chau were suspected of being poisoned and died, and the police listed "cruelty to animals" to follow up
落马洲7日5狗疑中毒亡 列虐畜跟进狗尸将化验
luò mǎ zhōu 7 rì 5 gǒu yí zhōng dú wáng liè nüè chù gēn jìn gǒu shī jiāng huà yàn
5 dogs suspected of poisoning and died in Lok Ma Chau on the 7th, and the dog corpse will be tested for animal cruelty
新春走基层|跟着“郭守敬”追星星
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng gēn zhe guō shǒu jìng zhuī xīng xīng
Follow "Guo Shoujing" to chase the stars in Chinese New Year
你是在跟我开玩笑吧？！
Nǐ shì zài gēn wǒ kāiwánxiào ba?!
Are you freaking kidding me?!
你跟我聊了这么久不知道我叫什么？！
Nǐ gēn wǒ liáo le zhème jiǔ bù zhīdào wǒ jiào shénme?!
You've been talking to me for so long, don't you know my name?!
你跟老板合得来吗？
Nǐ gēn lǎobǎn hédelái ma?
Do you get along with your boss?
你什么都没跟他说？
Nǐ shénme dōu méi gēn tā shuō?
You didn't tell him anything?
Character Family
足 Radical Family — Characters sharing the foot radical
Homophones — Characters pronounced gēn
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 跟 (gēn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 跟 and 恨?
How many strokes does 跟 have?
What is the radical of 跟?
What are the components of 跟?
What are common words containing 跟?
What characters sound the same as 跟 (gēn)?
Is 跟 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 跟 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.