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灯光 (dēng guāng) — light; (stage) lighting

Definition

灯光 refers to artificial lighting as a setup or scene — stage lighting, city lights at night — rather than a single lamp (灯) or natural illumination (光线, 照明).

noun
light(stage) lighting
Measure word · 束

Examples

  • 灯光。
    Wǔ tái shàng de dēng guāng shè jì dé hěn piào liang.
    The stage lighting is beautifully designed.
  • ，灯光。
    Wǎn shàng, chéng shì de dēng guāng hěn měi lì.
    At night, the city lights are very beautiful.
  • 灯光。
    Qǐng bǎ dēng guāng dǎ kāi.
    Please turn on the lights.

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.

灯dēnglamp
光guānglight

灯 meaning lamp modifies 光 meaning light, giving light from a lamp or stage lighting.

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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.

Open 光 →
Appears in
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