距
jù · HSK 7
be apart/away from
📏 足 foot + 巨 (jù) giant; the phonetic 巨 carries the jù sound, and a giant stride sets things far apart
距 combines the foot radical 足 with 巨 jù, which supplies both sound and the sense of bigness. It first named a rooster's spur, then shifted to mean the gap or distance keeping two things apart.
距 — foot radical 足 + 巨 (jù, large/ruler)
距 combines the foot radical 足 with 巨, which provides the sound. Originally it referred to the spur on a rooster's leg, then extended to mean 'distance' or 'to be apart from'—the gap measured between two points, like strides of the foot.