走

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 走 (zǒu) for "to walk" is composed of two parts: the radical 辵 (chuò), which represents movement, and the phonetic component 奏 (zòu), which indicates the pronunciation. The radical 辵 is common to many Chinese characters related to movement, such as 跑 (pǎo, "to run"), 跳 (tiào, "to jump"), and 逃 (táo, "to escape"). The phonetic component 奏 is also used in other characters with similar pronunciations, such as 奏 (zòu, "to play music") and 奏折 (zòuzhé, "memorial to the emperor").The character 走 has been used in Chinese for thousands of years, and its meaning has remained largely unchanged. In addition to its literal meaning of "to walk," 走 can also be used figuratively to mean "to go" or "to leave." For example, the phrase 走路 (zǒulù) means "to walk," while the phrase 走开 (zǒukāi) means "to go away."The character 走 is also used in a number of idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 走马观花 (zǒumǎguānhuā) means "to take a cursory look," while the proverb 走得快，跌得重 (zǒudekuài, diēdedezhòng) means "the faster you go, the harder you fall."The character 走 is a versatile and important character in Chinese. It is used in a wide variety of contexts, and its meaning can vary depending on the context in which it is used.