跃 meaning and stroke order
To skip, to jump, to frolic
How to write 跃, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 跃
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to jump
- to leap
How 跃 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Foot.
足 gives the meaning and 夭 hints at the sound.
Radical: 足 (foot), shared by 119 characters on this site.
How to remember 跃
The left side is 足 (zú), the foot radical, which tells you the meaning is about legs and movement. The right side 夭 (yāo) is the sound part here. Picture a person bending as they push off with their feet to leap into the air.
跃 (yuè) is rarely used alone in everyday speech. It usually appears in two-character words like 活跃 (huóyuè), 跳跃 (tiàoyuè) and 踊跃 (yǒngyuè). Example: 他在课堂上很活跃。(Tā zài kètáng shang hěn huóyuè.) He is very active in class.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 天 (tiān) or 夫 (fū). In 夭 the top stroke is a short slanted stroke, not a flat horizontal one. Also, the sound part 夭 is read yāo, but 跃 is read yuè, so do not guess yāo from the component.
Common words with 跃
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
跃 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 跃
How many strokes are in 跃?
跃 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 跃 mean?
跃 (yuè) means to skip, to jump, to frolic. A common word with it is 活跃 (huóyuè), meaning "active; lively".
How do you pronounce 跃?
跃 is pronounced yuè, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 跃?
The radical of 跃 is 足, which carries the idea of "foot". Dictionaries list 跃 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 跃?
The traditional form of 跃 is 躍. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 跃 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 跃 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 跃 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 跃 (yuè) and 跳 (tiào)?
跳 (tiào) is the everyday word for jump and works alone, as in 跳起来 (tiào qǐlái). 跃 is more formal or literary and mostly appears in compounds like 跳跃 or 飞跃.
How is 踊跃 (yǒngyuè) used in modern Chinese?
Besides its literal sense of leaping, 踊跃 often means eager or enthusiastic, especially about participating. For example, 大家踊跃发言 (dàjiā yǒngyuè fāyán) means everyone eagerly spoke up.