光芒万丈 (guāng máng wàn zhàng) — (set phrase) shining with boundless radiance; gloriously radiant (literal or figurative)

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'radiant with dazzling brilliance' — used for literal light (sun, stars) or, metaphorically, a person's talent, spirit, or future reaching a glorious peak.

idiom
(set phrase) shining with boundless radiancegloriously radiant (literal or figurative)

Examples

  • 光芒万丈，。
    Chūn tiān de tài yáng guāng máng wàn zhàng, zhào dé dà dì nuǎn yáng yáng de.
    The spring sun shines with boundless radiance, warming the earth.
  • 光芒万丈，。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā cái huá guāng máng wàn zhàng, zuò pǐn yǐng xiǎng le zhěng zhěng yí dài rén.
    This writer's talent shines brilliantly; his work influenced an entire generation.
  • ，光芒万丈。
    Zài yè kōng zhōng, guāng máng wàn zhàng de yín hé ràng rén gǎn dào jì zhuàng lì yòu shén mì.
    In the night sky, the Milky Way, shining with boundless radiance, feels both magnificent and mysterious.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
亡
亡wáng芒máng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

芒 pairs 艹 (grass) with 亡 as a sound part.

Open 芒 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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

丈 is made from 十 (ten) and 又 (hand), and it is explained as a length of ten chi.

Open 丈 →

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