蹉跎
cuō​tuó

slip

蹉 cuō error

A footstep 足 in error 差; 差 also provides the pronunciation

Components

足
足 Meaning component
zú foot
差
差 SoundMeaning component
chà, chā, chāi to differ

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangsʰlaːl
Unicodetsɑ

說文解字

蹉跎，失時也。从足差聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

跎 tuó slip

Components

足
足 Meaning component
zú foot

foot

它
它 Sound component
tā it

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld Chinese
Zhengzhangl'aːl
Unicodedhɑ

說文解字

蹉跎也。从足它聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)