明 (míng) — (bound form) bright, clear (literal or figurative); (bound form) to understand, clear (in compounds like 明白, 聪明); (bound form) next (in time, as in 明天, 明年)

Definition

明 (míng) is a bound form meaning 'bright/clear' — it almost never stands alone, appearing in compounds like 明天 (tomorrow), 明白 (understand), 明亮 (bright), or 光明 (light/bright future).

bound form
brightclear (literal or figurative)to understandclear (in compounds like 明白, 聪明)next (in time, as in 明天, 明年)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ míng tiān yào qù běi jīng.
    I'm going to Beijing tomorrow.
  • 。
    Zhè ge dào lǐ wǒ hěn míng bai.
    I understand this principle very clearly.
  • 。
    Qián tú yí piàn guāng míng.
    The future is bright.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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.

Appears in
3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.