精神矍铄
jīng shén jué shuò
hale and hearty (of an old person)
Character by character
精jīng
essence
essence
神shén
spirit
spirit
矍jué
sprightly
sprightly
铄shuò
bright
bright
Example
王爷爷九十岁了，依然精神矍铄，每天还要走一万步。
Grandpa Wang is ninety and still hale and hearty, walking ten thousand steps a day.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Only for elderly people, and a respectful compliment, common in news reports and speeches. 矍铄 comes from the 后汉书 (Book of the Later Han): when the general 马援, then 62, sat his horse and looked about him to show he could still go to war, the emperor laughed and said 矍铄哉是翁也, “how hale this old fellow is”. Watch the reading: 矍铄 is jué shuò.
Learn this in Lesson 13 · HSK 5: 公园里的中国 (A morning in a Chinese park)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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