通明 (tōng míng) — (stative verb) brightly lit, fully illuminated (of a space or area)

Definition

Literary/stative-verb way to say a place is brightly lit, almost always seen in the set phrase 灯火通明 (lamps and candles blazing bright). Use it to describe whole spaces — streets, halls, cities — not individual objects.

verb
(stative verb) brightly litfully illuminated (of a space or area)

Examples

  • 通明，。
    Zhěng gè chéng shì dēng huǒ tōng míng, fēi cháng měi lì.
    The whole city was brightly lit with lights, very beautiful.
  • 通明，。
    Dà tīng lǐ dēng huǒ tōng míng, rén men zhèng zài qìng zhù.
    The hall was brightly lit, and people were celebrating.
  • 通明，。
    Yè wǎn de jiē dào dēng huǒ tōng míng, xiàng bái tiān yí yàng.
    The streets at night were brightly lit, like daytime.

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.

通tōngthroughout
明míngbright

通 “throughout” and 明 “bright” give fully illuminated.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

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 →

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