踏 (tà): to step, to tread
踏 (tà) is a Chinese character meaning “to step, to tread.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 足 (semantic) and 沓 (phonetic). It ranks #1737 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 踏 foot. Its radical form 足 (foot) appears in many related characters such as 跑 (pǎo, to run), 跟 (gēn, follow, heel), 路 (lù, road).
Definitions
- to step, to tread
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 踏 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 踏
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 踢踏舞noun | tī tà wǔ | tap dance |
| 踏板noun | tà bǎn | pedal (in a car, on a piano etc) |
| 践踏verb | jiàn tà | to trample |
| 脚踏车noun | jiǎo tà chē | (Tw) bicycle |
| 脚踏实地phrase | jiǎo tà shí dì | to have one's feet firmly planted on the ground (idiom) |
| 踏足verb | tà zú | to set foot on (a foreign land etc) |
| 踏步verb | tà bù | stride |
| 踏进 | tà jìn | to set foot in |
| 踏上verb | tà shàng | to set foot on |
| 大踏步verb | dà tà bù | in big strides |
| 踏踏实实adverb | tā tā shí shí | steady |
| 糟踏 | zāo tà | variant of 糟蹋 |
| 踏雪 | tà xuě | to go for a walk in the snow |
| 踏勘verb | tà kān | to go and inspect (a site) |
| 踏青verb | tà qīng | lit. tread the green |
踏 appears in 54 compound words: 56 as the first character, 9 as the last, and 35 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 踏 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
Example Sentences
脚踏实地地工作，才能取得真正的成就。
Jiǎotàshídì de gōngzuò, cáinéng qǔdé zhēnzhèng de chéngjiù.
Work down-to-earth to achieve real accomplishments.
【锦绣中国年】踏雪穿林巡边忙_光明网
jǐn xiù zhōng guó nián tà xuě chuān lín xún biān máng guāng míng wǎng
【Splendid Chinese Year】Busy patrolling the border through the snow through the forest_Guangming.com
LABRUM 2026 秋冬:纺织踏上国际旅程
L A B R U M 2 0 2 6 qiū dōng : fǎng zhī tà shàng guó jì lǚ chéng
LABRUM Fall/Winter 2026: Textiles embark on an international journey
大理消防开展防火专项行动:踏查重点林区,对高火险区..
dà lǐ xiāo fáng kāi zhǎn fáng huǒ zhuān xiàng háng dòng : tà chá chóng diǎn lín qū , duì gāo huǒ xiǎn qū . .
Dali Fire Protection carried out special fire prevention actions: inspected key forest areas and conducted high-fire risk areas:
...到平安|拒绝 “人从众” 伤害,春节防踩踏 指南..
. . . dào píng ān jù jué rén cóng zhòng shāng hài , chūn jié fáng cǎi tà zhǐ nán . .
... To Ping'an|Refuse "people follow the crowd" harm, Spring Festival anti-stampede guide:
春节假期拍了拍你,出门揣一份“安心”更踏实
chūn jié jiǎ qī pāi le pāi nǐ , chū mén chuāi yī fèn ān xīn gēng tà shí
Spring Festival vacation pat you, go out and put a "peace of mind" more solid
她建议他使用脚踏车。
Tā jiànyì tā shǐyòng jiǎotàchē.
She advised him to use a bicycle.
我的脚踏车被偷了。
Wǒ de jiǎotàchē bèi tōu le.
My bike is stolen.
肯想要一辆脚踏车。
Kěn xiǎngyào yī liàng jiǎotàchē.
Ken wants a bicycle.
公园的告示牌上写着「请勿践踏草地」。
Gōngyuán de gàoshìpái shàng xiě zhe "qǐng wù jiàntà cǎodì."
The park sign says "Please keep off the grass."
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 足 (foot) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 踏 (tà) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 踏 have?
What is the radical of 踏?
What are the components of 踏?
What are common words containing 踏?
What characters sound the same as 踏 (tà)?
Is 踏 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 踏 with real-time feedback
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