掬 (jū): to scoop up with both hands

Meanings

1 to scoop up with both hands
2 a double handful (of)

Characters

掬

jū

to scoop up with both hands

Examples

她双手掬起一捧清泉。

Tā shuāngshǒu jū qǐ yì pěng qīngquán.

She scooped up a handful of clear spring water in her palms.

她的笑容温暖得笑容可掬。

Tā de xiàoróng wēnnuǎn de xiàoróngkějū.

Her smile was so warm it seemed you could scoop it up.

Tips

usage

掬 is to cup both hands and scoop something up, like water. It also serves as a measure for a double handful. The idiom 笑容可掬 describes a smile so abundant you could scoop it up in your hands.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

The hand radical in its left-side form, from 手. It marks an action done with the hands — here cupping and scooping. It groups 掬 with 捧, 抓, and 握.

phonetic

匊 jū

phonetic component

Supplies the sound, read identically as jū. It originally pictured grain held in a curved hand, so it also faintly reinforces the cupping image, though it works mainly as a pronunciation marker.