澄明 (chéng míng) — clear and bright

Definition

Literary adjective for liquid, air, or light that is completely clear and bright — more formal and poetic than 清澈 or 透明, typically used in writing about water, sky, or moonlight.

adjective
clear and bright
Easily confused

Examples

  • 澄明，。
    Hú shuǐ chéng míng, kě yǐ kàn jiàn shuǐ dǐ de shí tou.
    The lake water is clear and bright; you can see stones at the bottom.
  • 澄明。
    Yǔ hòu tiān kōng gé wài chéng míng.
    After the rain, the sky is especially clear and bright.
  • 澄明，。
    Yuè guāng chéng míng, zhào liàng le zhěng gè yuàn zi.
    The moonlight is clear and bright, illuminating the whole yard.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

澄chéngclear
明míngbright

“澄” means clear and “明” means bright, so together they describe a clear, bright quality.

Characters in this word

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng澄⁰chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

澄 pairs 氵 (water) with 登, which gives the sound; the shape is for clear water.

Open 澄 →

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 →

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