矍 (jué) · hale and hearty; vigorous (of an old person)

Meanings

1 hale and hearty; vigorous (of an old person)

Characters

矍

jué

(in 矍铄) hale; alert

Examples

HSK 7-9

老人虽然年过八旬，却依然矍铄。

Lǎorén suīrán niánguòbāxún, què yīrán jué shuò.

Although the old man is over eighty, he is still hale and hearty.

HSK 7-9

老教授精神矍铄，思维敏捷。

Lǎo jiàoshòu jīngshén jué shuò, sīwéi mǐnjié.

The old professor is in vigorous spirits and his mind is sharp.

Tips

usage

Mainly survives in 矍铄 ('hale and hearty'), a praising word for an elderly person who is still energetic and clear-eyed. Its old sense was 'to look around alertly', which the two-eye shape pictures.

Components

radical

目 mù

eye

Eye, the indexing radical, the left of a doubled pair of eyes on top. The two eyes picture a startled creature glancing sharply about, the root of the 'alert, vigorous' sense.

semantic

目 mù

eye

Eye again, the right half of the doubled eyes. Two eyes side by side intensify the image of darting, watchful looking.

semantic

隹 zhuī

short-tailed bird

A short-tailed bird, sitting below the eyes. A wary bird with darting eyes is the original scene the whole character draws.

semantic

又 yòu

hand

A hand at the bottom right, reaching to seize the alert bird, completing the lively, energetic image.