熠熠 (yì yì) — (literary) glistening, bright, shining

Definition

A literary reduplication meaning 'glistening, brightly shining' — used only in writing, typically to describe light, eyes, or metal. Pairs naturally with 辉辉, 生辉, and 动人.

bound form

(literary) glisteningbrightshining

Examples

熠熠，。
Xīng guāng yì yì, shí fēn měi lì.
The starlight glistens, very beautiful.
熠熠。
Tā de yǎn zhōng yì yì yǒu shén.
Her eyes glistened with spirit.
熠熠。
Zhè fú huà shàng de jīn sè yì yì fā guāng.
The gold on this painting glistens and shines.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

熠yì

The doubled form 熠熠 represents a bright, glistening appearance; the characters do not contribute separate meanings here.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

火習熠

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.