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明亮 (míng liàng) — bright, shining, glittering

Definition

Adjective for 'bright, well-lit', used for rooms, lights, and eyes/smiles. 鲜明 is for vivid colors or clear-cut contrasts; 光明 is more often a noun for 'light' itself, or for 'promising' (光明的前途).

adjective
brightshiningglittering

Examples

  • 明亮。
    Zhè zhǎn dēng fēi cháng míng liàng.
    This lamp is very bright.
  • 明亮。
    Yè kōng zhōng zuì míng liàng de nà kē xīng shì jīn xīng.
    The brightest star in the night sky is Venus.
  • 明亮。
    Tā de xiào róng míng liàng ér wēn nuǎn.
    Her smile is bright and warm.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

明míngbright
亮liàngbright

明 and 亮 both mean bright, reinforcing the sense of shining light.

Characters in this word

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

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng亮liàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

亮 combines 人 (person) with 京, and the 京 part shows a tower body.

Open 亮 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Appearance

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