niè

tread

To walk  quietly  also provides the pronunciation

Components
足 meaning component

  Meaning component

  

foot

聶 sound,meaning component

  Sound Meaning component

niè

  

whisper

Evolution

躡 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
躡 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
躡 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

() 

niè

tread, step on; follow, track; to walk on tiptoe; to walk quietly; to tread (on); to follow

Most common words with 躡
Freq.
Word
Meaning

蹑手蹑脚

to walk quietly on tiptoe (idiom)

to follow

蹑足

to walk on tiptoe

蹑踪

to follow along behind sb (formal writing)