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荣光 (róng guāng) — glory; splendor

Definition

荣光 (róngguāng) means 'glory' as something bestowed or earned — honor and distinction tied to a person, deed, or nation, rather than personal pride. It pairs naturally with 时刻 'moment' to describe a peak of collective honor.

noun
glorysplendor

Examples

  • 荣光。
    Tā wèi guó jiā yíng dé le róng guāng.
    He won glory for the country.
  • 荣光。
    Guò qù de róng guāng yǐ jīng bú zài zhòng yào.
    The past glory is no longer important.
  • 荣光。
    Zhè shì shǔ yú wǒ men de róng guāng shí kè.
    This is a moment of glory that belongs to us.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

荣rónghonor
光guāngbrightness

荣 and 光 both suggest honor and brightness, together forming glory.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 榮; 荣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
熒
熒yíng榮róng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 榮 pairs 木, a tree/wood part, with 熒 (yíng) as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 荣 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 荣 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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