采光 (cǎi guāng) — to let in natural light (through windows, skylights, etc.); (less common) to pick clean (wool, etc.)

Definition

采光 (cǎiguāng) means the natural lighting a building or room gets — how much daylight enters through windows or skylights. The verb sense, used in architecture and real-estate contexts, focuses on letting daylight in, not artificial light.

verb
to let in natural light (through windows, skylights, etc.)(less common) to pick clean (wool, etc.)

Examples

  • 采光，。
    Zhè ge kè tīng cǎi guāng hěn hǎo, xià wǔ hěn liàng.
    This living room has great natural lighting; it's very bright in the afternoon.
  • ，。
    Shè jì shī zài tiān huā bǎn shàng kāi le yí gè tiān chuāng, ràng dì xià shì yě néng cǎi dào guāng.
    The designer opened a skylight in the ceiling so the basement can also get natural light.
  • 采光。
    Zhè ge jiàn zhù zuì dà de wèn tí shì cǎi guāng bù zú.
    The biggest problem with this building is insufficient natural lighting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

采cǎigather
光guānglight

采 means gather and 光 means light, so this action is gathering 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 採; 采 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi採cǎi
Same sound today

The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.

Open 采 →

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.

Open 光 →

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