跃 (yuè) — to leap; to jump (bound form, used in compounds)

Definition

跃 is a bound morpheme meaning 'to leap' — it almost never stands alone and appears in compounds like 飞跃 (leapfrog), 跃居 (jump to a rank), or 跃过 (leap over). Use 跳 for the everyday verb 'to jump'.

bound form

to leapto jump (bound form, used in compounds)

Easily confused

Examples

，。
Jìn nián lái, zhōng guó de jīng jì shí xiàn le fēi yuè shì fā zhǎn.
In recent years, China's economy has achieved leapfrog development.
跃，。
Zhè zhī qīng wā qīng qīng yí yuè, jiù tiào dào le hé yè shàng.
The frog gave a gentle leap and jumped onto the lotus leaf.
跃。
Tā de chéng jì cóng dì shí míng yuè jū dào dì yī míng.
His ranking jumped from tenth place to first place.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 躍; 跃 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

翟

翟zhái躍yuè

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 躍 pairs 足 (foot) with 翟, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 跃 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.