孔明灯 (kǒng míng dēng) — sky lantern; Kongming lantern

Definition

A small paper lantern lifted by hot air, released into the night sky — the Chinese name honors Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), the historical strategist also called 孔明. Traditionally released at festivals (e.g. 元宵节) with wishes written on it.

noun
sky lanternKongming lantern
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 孔明灯。
    Wǒ men zài yuán xiāo jié fàng le jǐ gè kǒng míng dēng.
    We launched a few sky lanterns on the Lantern Festival.
  • 孔明灯，。
    kǒng míng dēng Màn màn shēng shàng tiān kōng, fēi cháng hǎo kàn.
    The sky lantern slowly rose into the sky — it was very beautiful.
  • 孔明灯，。
    Rén men bǎ yuàn wàng xiě zài kǒng míng dēng shàng, xī wàng mèng xiǎng chéng zhēn.
    People write wishes on the sky lantern, hoping their dreams come true.

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.

孔明Kongming
孔kǒngsurname Kong明mínggiven name Ming
联合Side by side
灯dēnglantern

孔明 names Kongming, and 灯 marks the lantern associated with him.

Characters in this word

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

  • 丿丿piěopening
  • 子子zǐchild

孔 pairs 丿 (an opening) with 子 (a child), showing an opening in a newborn's skull.

Open 孔 →

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

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.

Open 明 →

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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