熠熠生辉 (yì yì shēng huī) — to shine brilliantly; to sparkle with dazzling light (literal or figurative)

Definition

An idiom meaning 'to shine brilliantly,' used for things that glow or sparkle — literally (gems, stars) or figuratively (talent, achievements). Written and literary in tone.

idiom
to shine brilliantlyto sparkle with dazzling light (literal or figurative)

Examples

  • 熠熠生辉。
    Zuàn shí zài dēng guāng xià yì yì shēng huī.
    The diamond shone brilliantly under the light.
  • 熠熠生辉。
    Tā de chéng jiù ràng zhěng gè jiā zú yì yì shēng huī.
    His achievements made the whole family shine brilliantly.
  • 熠熠生辉，。
    Yè kōng zhōng de xīng xing yì yì shēng huī, měi jí le.
    The stars in the night sky sparkled dazzlingly — extremely beautiful.

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.

熠熠shining
熠yìshine熠yìshine
重叠Reduplication
生辉produce brilliance
生shēngproduce辉huībrilliance
动宾Verb + object

熠熠, the shining sense, combines with 生辉, producing brilliance, to mean dazzling light.

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huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
習
習xí熠yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part of 熠 is 火 (fire), and the right part is 習, which gives 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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
習
習xí熠yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part of 熠 is 火 (fire), and the right part is 習, which gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

Most 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 輝; 辉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
光光guānglight; bright
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn輝huī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輝 uses 光, meaning light; bright, and 軍 to give its sound; the simplified 辉 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 辉 →

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