月光 (yuè guāng) — moonlight | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

月光 is the light the moon gives off — not the moon itself (月亮) or the celestial body (月球). Often paired with 沐浴 in literary or poetic contexts.

noun

moonlight

Examples

月光。
Chuāng wài de yuè guāng zhào zài wǒ de chuáng shàng.
The moonlight outside the window shines on my bed.
月光。
Hú miàn shàng yín sè de yuè guāng ràng rén gǎn dào níng jìng.
The silvery moonlight on the lake makes people feel peaceful.
月光。
Gǔ dài shī rén cháng cháng xiě guān yú yuè guāng de shī.
Ancient poets often wrote poems about moonlight.

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.

月 gives moon and 光 gives light, together naming the light from the moon.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Sky & Space

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.