月亮 (yuè liang) — moon | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

月 (yuè) means 'month' as well as 'moon'; 月亮 is the everyday word specifically for the moon. More formal/scientific terms for the celestial body are 月球.

noun

moon

Measure word · 个

Examples

月亮。
Jīn wǎn de yuè liang yòu yuán yòu liàng.
The moon is round and bright tonight.
月亮。
Wǒ kàn jiàn yuè liang le.
I see the moon.
月亮。
yuè liang Guà zài tiān kōng shàng.
The moon hangs in the sky.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

亮liàngbright

月 names the moon, and 亮 names brightness, so the word pictures the bright moon.

Characters in this word

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

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng亮liàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

亮 combines 人 (person) with 京, and the 京 part shows a tower body.

Appears in

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