跃 (yuè) is a Chinese character meaning “to leap”. It is written from 足 (foot; leg) and 夭 (young; tender), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to leap”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
足 + 夭
Left–right structure
Structure from: 《简化字总表》躍→跃（现代字形拆分 IDS ⿰足夭，左侧作偏旁 ⻊；笔画核验 足7 + 夭4 = 11）
Memory aid
A foot (足) pushing off beside a figure with a tilted head (夭) — the body springs up in a leap.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 跳跃tiào yuèto jump; to leap跃 = yuè
- 活跃huó yuèactive; lively; to enliven跃 = yuè
Go deeper
All readings
to leap; to jump
to leap; to jump; to spring up
跳；向上或向前跳起。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 跳跃tiào yuèto jump; to leap跃 = yuè
- 活跃huó yuèactive; lively; to enliven跃 = yuè
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 跃 mean?
跃 (yuè) means to leap; to jump; to spring up.
How do you pronounce 跃?
It is pronounced yuè.
What parts is 跃 made of?
足 (foot; leg) and 夭 (young; tender), side by side. The recorded source is: 《简化字总表》躍→跃（现代字形拆分 IDS ⿰足夭，左侧作偏旁 ⻊；笔画核验 足7 + 夭4 = 11）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 跃 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 跃?
足. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 跃?
Common ones are 跳跃 and 活跃. The reading of 跃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.