About
The character 鴂 (jué) is a phono-semantic compound referring to certain birds, particularly the shrike or tailor-bird. It combines the semantic radical 鳥 (bird) with the phonetic component 夬 (guài/jué). In classical texts, it most often appears in the compound 鶗鴂 (tíjué), an alternative poetic name for the cuckoo. 鴂 frequently features in classical poetry, where the cuckoo's cry symbolizes the changing seasons, elevating its role from a zoological term to a literary motif evoking the passage of time and sorrow.
Etymology Hide
