明珠 (míng zhū) — bright pearl; (figurative) a cherished person or thing; a treasure

Definition

Literally 'bright pearl,' used figuratively for a treasured person or thing (as in 掌上明珠, 'the apple of one's eye'). Almost always appears in fixed literary expressions, not in everyday speech.

noun
bright pearl(figurative) a cherished person or thinga treasure
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 明珠。
    Hǎi dǐ yǒu hěn duō míng zhū.
    There are many bright pearls on the seafloor.
  • 。
    Tā shì fù mǔ de zhǎng shàng míng zhū.
    She is the apple of her parents' eye.
  • 明珠。
    Zhè zuò gǔ chéng shì zhōng huá wén huà de yì kē míng zhū.
    This ancient city is a gem of Chinese culture.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

明míngbright
珠zhūpearl

Bright and pearl combine to mean a shining gem, sometimes a treasured person.

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
𤣩Written in full as玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
朱
朱zhū珠zhū
Same sound today

The left side 𤣩, a form of 玉, connects the character to jade, while the right side 朱 gives the sound.

Open 珠 →

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