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足下

Mandarin · pinyin zú xià

you (used to a superior or between persons of the same generation)
below the foot

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Characters in this entry

足: zú · foot; attain, satisfy, enough; Kangxi radical 156
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · zu2 xia4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(literal) underfoot

pron

(literary, polite) you

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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