彳
stop, linger, loiter, going man radical (no. 60)
Strokes3
Readings
On'yomi
- テキ
Kun'yomi
- たたず.む
Meaning
彳 centers on halting movement: stopping, lingering, or loitering. As a radical, it represents a person in motion or a road, often used in characters related to going or walking.
Most common words using 彳
- 彳亍てきちょく
stopping in one's tracks; standing still
Study
Etymology
彳 is a pictograph of a person taking a step with the left foot, representing halting or lingering movement. It later became a radical for walking or going.
Meaning mnemonic
The three strokes look like a person pausing mid-step: the left stroke is the body, the top right is the head, and the lower right is the foot. Imagine someone stopping to linger on a path.
Reading mnemonic
For テキ, picture a person stopping to take a ticket from a machine: ticket -> テキ, and the pause is like lingering before moving on.