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Strokes of genius 步
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OBVIOUSLY, the Oracle bone script “步” bù shows left and right two footprints, which was interpreted as “walk” by the ancient Chinese, just as “步” bù in the modern words “步行” bùxíng (go on foot) or “步行街” bùxíngjie (pedestrian street).
Now, however, “步” bù is most commonly used in the sense of “step, pace” such as “跑步” pǎobù for jogging. Similar words occur in the Chinese title “散步”sànbù, “信步” xìnbù, “漫步” mànbù” for the English vocabulary textbook “Walk, Amble, Stroll.”
One more example is an idiom “五十步笑百步”wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù, more or less the equivalent of “The pot calling the kettle black.” Guess the origin? Mencius once told a fable, saying whoever retreated 50 paces should not laugh at those who retreated 100 paces. We can use this in the following situation:
你打鼾，她磨牙，有什么好五十步笑百步的？
Nǐ dǎhān, tā móyá, yǒu shénme hǎo wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù de?
You snore, she grinds her teeth, what’s the point of laughing at each other?
As in the English word “step,” “步”bù also has a further meaning of “one of a series of actions or measures taken to achieve a goal” or “a stage in a process.” For instance:
步骤 bùzhòu measure
一步步来 yí bù bù lái step by step
问：怎么把大象放到冰箱里？ wèn: Zěnme bǎ dàxiàng fàng dào bīngxiāng li?
答：只要三步。第一步，开冰箱门。第二步，把大象推进去。第三步，关冰箱门。
Dá: Zhǐyào sān bù. Dì yī bù, kāi bīngxiāngmén. Dì èr bù, bǎ dàxiàng tuī jìnqu. Dì sān bù, guān bīngxiāngmén.
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