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精光 (jīng guāng) — stark naked; completely used up, with nothing left

Definition

Used only after a verb with 得 to stress that something is totally gone or a person is completely naked. Pattern: V + 得 + 精光.

verb
stark nakedcompletely used upwith nothing left

Examples

  • 精光。
    Tā zài dǔ chǎng shū dé jīng guāng.
    He lost everything in the casino.
  • 精光，。
    Tā tuō dé jīng guāng, tiào jìn le yǒng chí.
    She stripped naked and jumped into the pool.
  • 精光。
    Bīng xiāng lǐ de shí wù chī dé jīng guāng.
    The food in the fridge was eaten up with nothing left.

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.

精jīngpure/completely
光guāngbare/empty

精 (pure/completely) strengthens 光 (bare, empty), giving a sense of nothing left.

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

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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