How to Write 鹫 (jiù) — Meaning “vulture or eagle”

Imagine a vulture sitting on a tree branch, saying "Just do it!" because 鹫 sounds like 'jiù' which reminds you of 'just'. The top part 就 means 'just then', and the bottom 鸟 means bird, so you can think: "Just a big bird — a vulture."

The top part 就 is wider than the bottom 鸟, so write the left and right sides of 就 evenly before adding 鸟 beneath. Be careful with the stroke order: write 就 first (start with the dot and left side, then the right side), then the bird radical 鸟 below; make sure the bird's head is centered under the top part. A common mistake is making the bottom part too large or misaligning the two parts.

鹫 (jiù) means vulture or large eagle, while 鹞 (yào) means a smaller hawk or harrier. The character 鹠 (liú) refers to a type of owl. Visually, 鹫 has the top part 就, 鹞 has the top part 䍃 (a phonetic component), and 鹠 has the top part 留 (liú), so the different upper radicals make them distinct.

鹫 appears in the word 秃鹫 (tū jiù, 'vulture') and 雕鹫 (diāo jiù, 'large eagle'). It is also used in the Buddhist place name 灵鹫山 (Líng Jiù Shān, 'Vulture Peak'), a sacred mountain in India where the Buddha taught many sutras. In modern daily language, 鹫 is not common outside of these specific terms.

Common words containing 鹫 include: 秃鹫 (tū jiù) — vulture; 雕鹫 (diāo jiù) — Vulture; large eagle; 灵鹫山 (líng jiù shān) — Vulture Peak (Grdhrakuta Mountain).