Meaning of 越
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to exceed
- to climb over
- to surpass
- the more... the more
- generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods
- abbr. for Vietnam 越南
How to use 越
Most learners first meet 越 in the patterns 越来越 (more and more) and 越...越... (the more... the more...). It also appears in verbs about crossing or surpassing, like 越过 (yuèguò) and 超越 (chāoyuè). Example: 天气越来越冷了。(Tiānqì yuè lái yuè lěng le.) The weather is getting colder and colder.
越 is built from 走 (zǒu, to walk) on the left and 戉 (yuè) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture someone walking so far that they go past a limit, which is the idea of crossing over or exceeding.
Common mistake: Learners often add 很 after 越, as in 越来越很好, but 越来越 already shows degree, so just say 越来越好. Also do not confuse 越 with 起 (qǐ), which shares the 走 side but has 己 on the right.
越 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
越 yuè · to exceed · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 越.
| 越来越 | yuè lái yuè | more and more |
| 超越 | chāoyuè | to surpass; to exceed; to transcend |
| 穿越 | chuānyuè | to traverse; to pass through; to cross; time travel (as a genre of fiction) |
| 越过 | yuèguò | to cross over; to transcend |
| 跨越 | kuàyuè | to step across; step over |
| 卓越 | zhuóyuè | outstanding; surpassing |
| 越发 | yuèfā | increasingly; more and more |
| 优越 | yōuyuè | superior; superiority |
| 越狱 | yuèyù | to break out of prison; to jailbreak (an iOS device etc) |
| 飞越 | fēiyuè | to fly across; to fly over |
| 越界 | yuèjiè | to cross a border; to overstep a bound |
| 穿越时空 | chuānyuèshíkōng | to travel through time |
Questions about 越
What does 越 mean?
越 (yuè) means "to exceed; to climb over" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 越?
越 is made of 1 character: 越 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 越 an HSK word?
Yes. 越 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I use the pattern 越...越... in a sentence?
Put a verb or situation after the first 越 and the result after the second 越. For example, 你越说我越不明白 (nǐ yuè shuō wǒ yuè bù míngbai) means the more you talk, the less I understand.
Why does 越 appear in the word for Vietnam?
越 was a historical name for peoples and states of south China and nearby regions, and Vietnam is 越南 (Yuènán). It is also used alone as a short form, as in 中越关系 (Zhōng Yuè guānxì), China Vietnam relations.