电光 (diàn guāng) — electric light (from artificial sources); flash…

Definition

Literary term for 'electric light' and 'flash of lightning' — reads more like 文言/poetic than modern 灯光. Mostly seen in fixed phrases like 电光石火.

noun

electric light (from artificial sources)flash of lightning

电光。
Chéng shì de diàn guāng bǎ yè kōng zhào dé hěn liàng.
The city's electric lights make the night sky very bright.
电光，。
Gāng cái tiān kōng shǎn guò yí dào diàn guāng, rán hòu xià qǐ le dà yǔ.
Just now a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and then it started raining heavily.
电光。
Zhè tái jī qì kě yǐ chǎn shēng hěn qiáng de diàn guāng.
This machine can produce very strong electric light.

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.

电diànelectricity

电 gives the source, and 光 gives the brightness, making electric light.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

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

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

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

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Appears in