蹭
cèng · HSK 7
to rub against
🐱 Sounds like SUNG with a C — a cat cèng-ing your leg, rubbing slow
A cat rubs against your shin and won't move fast. That slow, clingy rub is 蹭. Extended meaning: someone who cèngs a meal is rubbing up to you for free food — freeloading by sticking close.
蹭 — foot radical 足 + 曾 (céng, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 suggests an action involving the feet or rubbing motion, while 曾 supplies the sound (céng → cèng). The character originally meant to rub or scrape against something, later extending to mean 'to mooch' or get something for free by tagging along.