How to Write 跏 (jiā) — Meaning “to sit cross-legged”

Imagine you are 'adding' (加) your two feet (足) together in front of you to form a crossed shape. Picture a person sitting on the floor with each foot placed on the opposite thigh—this 'adds' the feet into a lotus position. The visual of feet plus addition helps link the sound jiā and the meaning.

Pay attention to the stroke order of the left radical 足: first write the mouth-shaped part (vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the lower strokes (horizontal, left-falling, right-falling). The right component 加 is simpler: write 力 first (horizontal hook, left-falling) then 口 (vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making the left 足 too wide; keep it narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

趵 (bào) means 'to stamp' or 'to kick' and has the right component 勺 (spoon), while 趸 (dǔn) means 'to store' or 'to buy wholesale' and has the right component 十万. In contrast, 跏 uses 加 on the right. Visually, 跏 has a symmetrical right side (加), whereas 趵 has a curved enclosure (勺) and 趸 has a larger, more complex right side (十万). Their meanings are also unrelated to sitting cross-legged.

跏 is almost exclusively used in the context of Buddhist or yoga meditation to describe the crossed-leg sitting posture, especially the full lotus position. It appears in terms like 跏趺 (jiā fū) or 跏趺坐 (jiā fū zuò), which you might read in meditation guides or texts about Buddhism. Outside of these specialized contexts, it is rarely used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 跏 include: 跏趺 (jiā fū) — sitting cross-legged (lotus position); 跏坐 (jiā zuò) — to sit cross-legged; 跏趺坐 (jiā fū zuò) — lotus position (meditation).