How to Write 足 (zú) — Meaning “foot; sufficient; enough”

Imagine the character looks like a simple drawing of a leg with a foot: the top stroke is the knee, the middle part is the leg, and the bottom strokes form the toes. You can think of the mouth-like shape at the bottom (口) as the sole of the foot, and the strokes above as the ankle and shin.

The stroke order is: vertical, horizontal fold left, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, left, and right — total 7 strokes. Pay attention that the top "mouth" part (口) is narrow and not too wide, and the bottom part has a left stroke that ends before a short right stroke. A common mistake is making the top too wide or writing the bottom strokes too long.

The character 趴 has the radical 足 on the left and 八 (eight) on the right, meaning "to lie down" or "to crouch." In contrast, 足 stands alone as a complete character meaning "foot" or "enough." Visually, 趴 has an extra component on the right side (八) that 足 does not have, and 趴 is always used in compound words.

足 is commonly used in words like 足球 (soccer), 足够 (enough), and 满足 (satisfied). In Chinese culture, the foot is historically significant in the practice of foot binding, though that is no longer done. The character also appears in idioms such as 足智多谋 (resourceful), where 足 means "sufficient" in a figurative sense.

Common words containing 足 include: 足球 (zú qiú) — soccer; football; 足够 (zú gòu) — enough; sufficient; 满足 (mǎn zú) — to satisfy; to meet (needs); content.