知足常乐 (zhī zú cháng lè)

Character breakdown

• 知 (zhī) · 8 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 矢 represents the sound.

• 足 (jù) · 7 strokes

  Pictograph of a foot (止) attached to a leg.

• 常 (Cháng) · 11 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 巾 represents the meaning and 尚 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning, "lower garment", now written as 裳. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

• 乐 (Lè) · 5 strokes

  Pictograph of an ancient wooden stringed musical instrument. The simplified character 乐 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 樂.

Usage

老人常说知足常乐。

satisfied with what one has (idiom)

lǎo rén cháng shuō zhī zú cháng lè 。