HSK 5 · Verbs

踩 cǎi “to step on” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 踩 means

  1. to step on
  2. to tread
  3. to stamp
  4. to press a pedal
  5. to pedal (a bike)
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (online) to downvote

How to say 踩

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale踩cǎi3rd tone, dipping

踩 in a sentence

  1. 不要踩草地。

    Bú yào cǎi cǎodì.

    Keep off the grass.

    Sentence #6959856 from Tatoeba

  2. 他故意踩我的脚。

    Tā gùyì cǎi wǒ de jiǎo.

    He stepped on my foot on purpose.

    Sentence #875306 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 我踩到了什么奇怪的东西了。

    Wǒ cǎi dào le shénme qíguài de dōngxi le.

    I stepped on something strange.

    Sentence #5100143 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 踩 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 踩 (cǎi) with each of its parts in a different colour
踩cǎito step on
  • 足foot · zúMeaning part
  • 采to collect · cǎiSound part

足 hints at the meaning (foot); 采 (cǎi) hints at the sound. Compare it with cǎi.

How to write 踩

踩 15 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

踩 (cǎi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 踩 (cǎi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 踩

More words: Common Verbs

FAQs

踩 (cǎi) means “to step on” or “to tread”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it cǎi: cǎi with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 踩 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type cai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 踩 from the suggestions. Typing cai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
踩 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.