曙光 (shǔ guāng) — dawn (the first light of day); (figurative) daw… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'dawn light,' 曙光 is used figuratively for the first sign of hope or a new beginning, more literary than 光明 ('bright future / openhearted').

noun

dawn (the first light of day)(figurative) dawn of a new erahope for the future

Examples

曙光，。
shǔ guāng Chū xiàn, dà dì jiàn jiàn míng liàng qǐ lái.
Dawn appeared, and the earth gradually brightened.
曙光。
Tā men zhōng yú děng dào le shèng lì de shǔ guāng.
They finally waited for the dawn of victory.
曙光，。
shǔ guāng Jiù zài qián fāng, wǒ men bú yào fàng qì.
The dawn is right ahead; we must not give up.

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.

曙shǔdawn

曙 indicates dawn and 光 indicates light, naming the first light of morning.

Characters in this word

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

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

暑

暑shǔ曙shǔ

Same sound today

曙 combines 日 (sun) to show the time of dawn with 暑 to give the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Sky & Space Time of Day

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