矍 (jué): (in 矍铄) hale and hearty; vigoro…

Meanings

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

Characters

矍

jué

(in 矍铄) hale; alert

Examples

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.

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.