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光荣 (guāng róng) — (noun) honor, glory; (adjective) glorious, honorable

Definition

Used for people or deeds that bring honor, often with a moral or patriotic tone (a glorious mission, an honor roll). As a noun, it names the honor itself — closer to 'glory' than to the reputation-focused 荣誉.

noun
honorglory
adjective
glorioushonorable

Examples

  • 光荣。
    Tā yì shēng zhuī qiú guāng róng hé mèng xiǎng.
    He pursued honor and dreams his whole life.
  • 光荣。
    Zhè shì yí xiàng fēi cháng guāng róng de rèn wu.
    This is a very honorable mission.
  • 。
    Tā de míng zì shàng le guāng róng bǎng.
    His name was put on the honor roll.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

光guāngglory
荣rónghonor

“光” (glory) and “荣” (honor) combine to mean worthy of praise.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 榮; 荣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
熒
熒yíng榮róng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 榮 pairs 木, a tree/wood part, with 熒 (yíng) as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 荣 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 荣 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Success & Failure

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