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光线 (guāng xiàn) — light; ray of light; illumination; lighting

Definition

光线 refers to natural light or the direction/quality of light in a space, often in photography or describing a room. Compare 光 (general 'light') and 灯光 (artificial/stage lighting).

noun
lightray of lightilluminationlighting
Measure word · 条, 道

Examples

  • 光线。
    Zhè tiáo guāng xiàn cóng chuāng hu zhào jìn lái.
    This ray of light shines in through the window.
  • 光线，。
    Fáng jiān lǐ de guāng xiàn tài àn le, wǒ kàn bù qīng chǔ.
    The lighting in the room is too dim; I can't see clearly.
  • 光线。
    Pāi zhào shí yào zhù yì guāng xiàn de fāng xiàng.
    When taking photos, pay attention to the direction of the light.

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.

光guānglight
线xiànline

'光' (light) and '线' (line) form the image of a line of light.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Open 线 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Physics & Chemistry

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