How to Write 跟 (gēn) — Meaning “with / to follow”

Imagine a foot (足) stepping right behind a person (艮 looks like a person’s back and legs). This picture helps you remember that 跟 means "to follow" — you follow someone by walking behind them.

Keep the left part 足 narrow and the right part 艮 slightly wider so the character stays balanced. A common mistake is making the last stroke of 艮 a dot instead of a downwards-right stroke (捺) — remember to press down and out.

跟 uses the sound component 艮 and means "follow" or "with." 趺 (fū) uses 夫 on the right and means "instep" or "sitting cross-legged" — it is very rare and not used in daily conversation. 䠀 is an uncommon character with no clear modern meaning, so you only need to focus on 跟.

You use 跟 most often as a preposition meaning "with" (跟我, with me) or a verb meaning "to follow" (跟随, to follow). In daily life, it also appears in the word 鞋跟 (shoe heel), which connects back to the ‘foot’ radical — the heel is the part of the foot that follows when you walk.

Common words containing 跟 include: 跟我 (gēn wǒ) — with me; 跟随 (gēn suí) — to follow; 鞋跟 (xié gēn) — Shoe heel.