How to Write 踉 (liàng) — Meaning “to stumble; to stagger”

Imagine a person walking but their foot (足) is not steady because they are "liàng" (sounds like "long" step gone wrong). Think of the right part 良 as "a bit off" — the foot is good but still staggers.

Pay attention to the left radical 足: the last two strokes are a vertical and a leftward flick, not a horizontal line. The right part 良 has a small dot on top, then a short horizontal, and a vertical leftward hook — make sure the bottom stroke is a smooth sweep.

踉 specifically means to stagger or stumble while walking. 䠀 (tǎng, uncommon) means to lie flat or collapse, and 跆 (tái) means to tread or step on — none share the unsteady walking meaning. Visually, 踉 has 足 + 良, while 䠀 has 足 + 堂 and 跆 has 足 + 台.

踉 almost always appears in the reduplicated form 踉踉跄跄 (liàng liàng qiàng qiàng) to describe someone walking unsteadily, like after drinking or being dizzy. It's not a common standalone character; you'll see it in literature or descriptions of physical movement rather than everyday speech.

Common words containing 踉 include: 踉跄 (liàng qiàng) — to stagger; to stumble; 踉踉跄跄 (liàng liàng qiàng qiàng) — staggering; stumbling; 踉跄一步 (liàng qiàng yī bù) — to take a stumbling step.