How to Write 跪 (guì) — Meaning “to kneel”

Picture a person who sees a "danger" (危) ahead and immediately drops to their "foot" (足) — kneeling down to stay low and avoid harm. This combines the left radical for foot with the right part for danger to create the image of kneeling.

Write the left radical 足 with its last stroke as a left-falling 丿, not a vertical stroke. The right part 危 has a curled stroke (㇆) that must stay compact to keep the character balanced. A common mistake is making the right side too wide, which makes the character look unbalanced.

䠀 (tǎng) means to lie down or fall over, while 趺 (fū) means to sit cross-legged (like in meditation). 跪 specifically means to kneel on one or both knees. Visually, 跪 uses 危 on the right, 䠀 uses 尚, and 趺 uses 夫.

跪 is used for actions like kneeling in apology, showing respect, or during religious worship (跪拜). In modern daily life, kneeling is less common but still appears in formal ceremonies or emotional scenes. It is also used in idioms such as 跪下求饶 (guì xià qiú ráo, kneel to beg for mercy).

Common words containing 跪 include: 跪下 (guì xià) — to kneel down; 跪拜 (guì bài) — to worship on one's knees; 跪地 (guì dì) — to kneel on the ground.