光明磊落 (guāng míng lěi luò) — open and upright; candid and aboveboard

Definition

A four-character idiom (chengyu) praising someone whose thoughts and actions are completely honest and aboveboard — nothing hidden.

phrase

open and uprightcandid and aboveboard

光明磊落，。
Tā zuò rén guāng míng lěi luò, cóng bú bèi hòu shuō rén huài huà.
He acts with honesty and integrity, never speaking ill of others behind their backs.
光明磊落，。
Gōng sī lǐng dǎo yāo qiú yuán gōng zuò shì guāng míng lěi luò, bù néng yǒu qī piàn xíng wéi.
The company leaders require employees to act openly and honestly, without any deceptive behavior.
光明磊落，。
Yí gè guāng míng lěi luò de rén, bú huì hài pà bié rén zhī dào zì jǐ de mì mì.
An upright person is not afraid of others knowing their secrets.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

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

日月明

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

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

石石石磊

The shape of 磊 is three 石 parts, each meaning stone.

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

艹洛落

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

洛

Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Appears in