Definitions

hunchbacked; walk alone

Etymology phono-semantic

foot

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character (jǔ) is formed as a phono-semantic compound, with (zú, foot) on the left signifying walking, and (yǔ) on the right serving as the phonetic component; is originally the name of a legendary figure. The primary meaning of is 'to walk alone,' and this sense occurs almost exclusively in the reduplicated idiom 踽踽独行 (jǔjǔ dúxíng), which describes a person walking completely alone, without any companions.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern