竹馬

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 竹馬 (たけうま) combines bamboo 竹 and horse 馬, read たけうま, for a pair of walking stilts.
• Basic usage: It refers to the raised-footrest toy children ride and that can be made from bamboo.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Stilts rather than an animal
  • The 馬 is figurative because the user rides the device; 竹馬 does not denote a literal bamboo horse.