照亮 (zhào liàng) — to illuminate, to light up | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'shine + make bright' — to illuminate a physical space, or figuratively to brighten someone's mood or heart. Stronger and more visual than 照 ('to shine on') alone, which names the light without emphasizing the brightening effect.

verb

to illuminateto light up

Examples

照亮。
Yáng guāng zhào liàng le fáng jiān.
The sunlight illuminated the room.
照亮。
Zhè zhǎn dēng néng zhào liàng zhěng gè yuàn zi.
This lamp can light up the whole yard.
照亮。
Tā de xiào róng zhào liàng le wǒ de xīn.
His smile illuminated my heart.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

亮liàngbright

照 gives shine and 亮 gives bright, so together they mean shine until something becomes bright.

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.

灬昭照

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

昭

昭zhāo照zhào

Same sound today

照 uses 灬, a bottom form of 火 (fire), plus 昭 for the sound.

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng亮liàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

亮 combines 人 (person) with 京, and the 京 part shows a tower body.

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