How to Write 蹄 (tí) — Meaning “Hoof”

Imagine the emperor (帝) having a very special foot (足) that is actually a horse's hoof. The picture of a royal hoof can help you link the meaning and components. Just remember that the emperor's foot is a hoof.

Write the left radical 足 first, then the right part 帝. Pay attention to the right side: it starts with a dot and a horizontal stroke, followed by a middle part that looks like a towel (巾). A common mistake is making the bottom of 帝 too wide, so keep the strokes balanced and compact inside the square.

All three characters share the 足 (foot) radical on the left, but their right sides differ. 蹄 has 帝 (emperor) on the right, while 跽 has 忌 (avoid) and means "to kneel." 䠀 has 尚 (still) on the right and is a rare character meaning "to step" or "to tread."

蹄 is commonly used in words like 马蹄 (horse hoof) and 猪蹄 (pork trotters), which is a popular dish in Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, 马蹄 can also refer to water chestnuts because of their shape similarity to a horse’s hoof. You will often see 蹄 on menus or when talking about animal body parts.

Common words containing 蹄 include: 马蹄 (mǎ tí) — Horse hoof; 猪蹄 (zhū tí) — pork trotters; 蹄子 (tí zi) — Hoof.