骛 (wù): to gallop; to rush about

Meanings

1 to gallop; to rush about
2 to pursue eagerly

Characters

骛

wù

to gallop; to pursue

Examples

好高骛远是创业的大忌。

Hàogāo-wùyuǎn shì chuàngyè de dàjì.

Aiming too high and chasing the distant is a fatal flaw in starting a business.

他心无旁骛地工作。

Tā xīnwúpángwù de gōngzuò.

He works with single-minded focus, distracted by nothing.

Tips

usage

Almost never used alone in modern Chinese — appears in two important set phrases: 好高骛远 'aim too high, chase the far' (over-ambitious / unrealistic), and 心无旁骛 'heart with no side-rushing' (single-minded focus). The radical 马 (horse) hints at the original 'galloping' image.

Components

radical

马 mǎ

horse

马 on the bottom is the horse radical, simplified from a flowing four-leg pictograph. Its presence makes the chase concrete: 骛 is not just any pursuit but a hard gallop, a horse driven flat-out. It groups with 驰, 骋, and 驾.

phonetic

敄 wù

strive; force

敄 sits on top and supplies the reading wù directly. It carries its own sense of forceful pursuit, reinforcing the meaning of 骛 — to gallop hard after something, to chase a goal without restraint. Same phonetic appears in 务 and 雾.