ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to run

pǎo
12 strokes · ⻊ (foot radical) + 包 (wrap, sound bāo→pǎo) · HSK 2

Where 跑 comes from

跑 is a foot ⻊ with 包 lending sound — a late, practical character for a motion as old as legs. The foot radical carries a whole gym: 跳 jump, 踢 kick, 跑 run.

跑 in Chinese culture

跑步 'run-steps' is jogging, China's dawn ritual in every park. 跑 also means to flee or to slip away: 别跑! 'don't run!' works for children, dogs, and thieves alike. A busy errand-runner 跑来跑去 — runs here and there all day.

Example

跑步 pǎobù — to jog; running

我每天早上跑步。
Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang pǎobù.
I go running every morning.

How to remember it

Foot ⻊ wrapped 包 in motion — RUN!

跑龙套 'running the dragon-costume parts' means playing bit roles — from opera extras who sprinted across the stage carrying flags to make armies look bigger.

Same sound, different tones

1st pāo
to toss
2nd páo
robe
3rd pǎo
to run
4th pào
cannon

Words unlocked by 跑

跑步 pǎobù
to jog
别跑 bié pǎo
don't run!
跑得快 pǎo de kuài
runs fast

Related characters

LEARN 跑 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 371-character HSK library · iOS