How to Write 踣 (bó) — Meaning “to fall prostrate; to fall down”

Imagine a person walking (足) and suddenly stepping on a banana peel, making a "bo" sound as they fall flat on the ground. The right side 咅 looks like a person's head hitting the ground (立 on top of 口 for mouth open in surprise). This links the sound and meaning to the character.

Start by writing the left radical 足 using proper stroke order: vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, left-falling, then right-falling. Then write the right side 咅: first the top part 立 (dot, horizontal, dot, left-falling, horizontal), then the bottom 口 (vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). Common mistakes include making the right side too wide or forgetting the dot in 立.

The character 跟 (gēn) means "heel" or "to follow" and has the right side 艮, while 踣 has the right side 咅. The rare character 䠀 (chǎng) also uses the foot radical but has a different right component and means "to stamp" or "to tread." So 踣 is unique in its meaning of falling prostrate, not just walking or following.

踣 is not common in everyday speech and is mainly found in classical texts or fixed idioms like 屡踣屡起 (lǚ bó lǚ qǐ), meaning "to fall and rise repeatedly" — a metaphor for perseverance. It may also appear in literary descriptions of someone collapsing. Because it is rare, learners usually only need to recognize it in reading.

Common words containing 踣 include: 踣地 (bó dì) — to fall to the ground; 屡踣屡起 (lǚ bó lǚ qǐ) — to fall and rise repeatedly; to persevere through setbacks; 颠踣 (diān bó) — To fall down; to stumble.