脚
foot
HSK level
- Pinyin
- jiǎo
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 11
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 只 / 双
Stroke order for 脚
脚 is written with 11 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 脚 mean?
脚 (jiǎo) means 'foot' — specifically the part of the body below the ankle.
The key distinction English speakers must learn early is the split between 脚 (foot) and 腿 (tuǐ, leg). In English we casually say 'leg' for the whole limb; in Chinese, 脚 stops at the ankle, and 腿 is everything above. So 'my foot hurts' is 我的脚疼, and 'my leg hurts' is 我的腿疼.
Counted with 只 for one foot and 双 for a pair (一双脚, mirroring 一双鞋, 'a pair of shoes'). 脚 also appears in compounds for foot-related actions and objects: 脚步 (footstep), 脚下 (under one's feet), 跑步 (jogging, sharing the same 'walk' family of meaning). Idiomatically, 大脚 ('big foot') and 小脚 ('small foot') can describe foot size literally or, historically, the practice of foot-binding.
Note: Standard in speech and writing. For 'leg' (the whole limb above the foot), use 腿 (tuǐ) — 脚 is just the foot below the ankle.
Example sentences
我的脚很疼。
Wǒ de jiǎo hěn téng.
My feet hurt a lot.
spoken
请把脚放下来。
Qǐng bǎ jiǎo fàng xiàlái.
Please put your feet down.
spoken
他的脚很大。
Tā de jiǎo hěn dà.
His feet are very big.
neutral
走了一天，我的脚很累。
Zǒu le yī tiān, wǒ de jiǎo hěn lèi.
After walking all day, my feet are very tired.
spoken
Common phrases with 脚
Don't confuse 脚 with
角 (jiǎo) means 'corner, horn, jiao (currency)' — same pinyin and tone as 脚, but written without the 月 flesh radical. 脚 is the body part; 角 is geometric or monetary.
腿 means 'leg' — the whole limb from hip to ankle. 脚 is only the foot below the ankle. English 'my leg hurts' must split into 腿疼 (leg) or 脚疼 (foot) in Chinese.
鞋 is 'shoe' — what you put on your 脚. Common pair: 一双鞋 (a pair of shoes) covers 一双脚 (a pair of feet).
FAQ
Acquire it by listening
Meet 脚 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 脚 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.