烁 (shuò) — bright, luminous (literary; used in compounds such as 闪烁)
Definition
A literary bound form meaning 'shining, luminous.' It almost always appears in 闪烁 ('to flicker, twinkle') — on its own it is not used as a stand-alone word.
bound form
brightluminous (literary; used in compounds such as 闪烁)
Examples
- ，。Yè wǎn, xīng xing zài tiān kōng zhōng shǎn shuò.At night, stars twinkle in the sky.
- 。Yuǎn chù de dēng guāng shǎn shuò bú dìng.The distant lights flickered unsteadily.
- 。Tā de yǎn jing shǎn shuò zhe zhì huì de guāng máng.His eyes sparkled with wisdom.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 爍; 烁 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
樂
樂lè爍
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 爍 combines 火 (fire) with 樂, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 烁 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.