What 躍 means
It means a leap, spring, or quick upward movement. Chinese compounds carry that motion into energetic activity and progress; Japanese also uses 躍る for a leap or surge.
The Han-dynasty Chinese character dictionary 說文解字, compiled around 100 CE, glosses 躍 as “swift.” It describes the form as 足 (“foot”) plus 翟, a component that hints at pronunciation. Classical examples use it for a horse’s leap and for raising a flag.
Is 躍 the same as 踊?
No: in Japanese, 躍る is a leap or surge; 踊る is dancing. Both have the Japanese reading おどる; 踊る also covers being made to dance or moved by someone else.
A Japanese newspaper-language column documented in 2023 that one article used 躍 in its headline but 踊 in its index. In Japanese writing, use 躍 for a jump or inner surge and 踊 for rhythm-led dancing.
What does 躍 suggest in a message?
Read the surrounding words: 躍 signals motion, energy, or forward progress. A lone 躍 does not specify a sender’s full reaction; the expression it belongs to supplies the intent.
In compounds, 躍 adds lively movement or forward drive; Japanese distinguishes 躍る (leap or surge) from 踊る (dance).
For ordinary dancing in Japanese, use 踊る; 躍る suggests a leap or surge.
Part of the collection
Who writes 躍
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What it means when someone sends it to you
4 readingsA literal jump or physical leap.
Don't confuse it with
1
Related characters
3
Worth knowing
- Han-era texts can use 躍 for rising prices, carrying the image of a leap into market language.
Questions people ask
1Why does 躍 show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
More like this
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How to type or find 躍
- Search it as
- jump · yue · yaku · 躍る · 踊る · 跃 · 躍動 · 活躍
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
躍\8E8DCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.