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晶莹 (jīng yíng) — sparkling and translucent; glittering and clear

Definition

Describes small bright things that are both sparkly and crystal-clear, like dewdrops, gems, or snow. 清澈 is for transparent media like water; 璀璨 is brighter and more dazzling, like starry skies or jewels shining.

adjective
sparkling and translucentglittering and clear
Easily confused

Examples

  • 晶莹，。
    Hú shuǐ jīng yíng tòu míng, kě yǐ kàn dào shuǐ dǐ de shí tou.
    The lake water is sparkling and transparent; you can see the stones at the bottom.
  • 晶莹。
    Tā de xiàng liàn shàng guà zhe yì kē jīng yíng de bǎo shí.
    On her necklace hangs a sparkling and translucent gem.
  • 晶莹。
    Xuě hòu de shì jiè yí piàn jīng yíng jié bái.
    After the snow, the world is a sparkling white.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

晶jīngcrystal
莹yínglustrous

晶 and 莹 both bring crystal-like brightness and lustrous clarity, together meaning sparkling and translucent.

Characters in this word

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

晶 is drawn as three suns placed together, giving a picture of bright light.

Open 晶 →

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 瑩; 莹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
熒
熒yíng瑩⁰yíng
Same sound today

The traditional form 瑩 pairs 玉 (jade) with 熒, which gives the sound; 莹 is the form shown here.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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