金灿灿 (jīn càn càn) — glittering gold, golden and dazzling

Definition

A vivid, onomatopoeic reduplicated adjective (adverbial/attributive only, never a plain predicate) meaning 'glittering gold.' Stronger and more literary than 黄金 huángjīn or 金色 jīnsè, which name the color itself.

bound form
glittering goldgolden and dazzling

Examples

  • ，金灿灿。
    Qiū tiān, jīn càn càn de luò yè pū mǎn le xiǎo lù.
    In autumn, the golden leaves covered the path.
  • ，金灿灿。
    Yáng guāng sǎ zài hú miàn shàng, shuǐ bō jīn càn càn de.
    Sunlight scattered on the lake, and the ripples were golden.
  • 金灿灿，。
    Tā dài zhe yí duì jīn càn càn de ěr huán, tè bié yào yǎn.
    She wore a pair of glittering gold earrings that were especially dazzling.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

金jīngold
灿灿
灿cànbright灿cànbright

金 and 灿灿 suggest a bright, glittering gold color.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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 燦; 灿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
粲
粲càn燦càn
Same sound today

The traditional form 燦 pairs 火 (fire) with 粲 as a sound part; the simplified 灿 is a shorthand, and its right side is not a historical part.

Open 灿 →

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 燦; 灿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
粲
粲càn燦càn
Same sound today

The traditional form 燦 pairs 火 (fire) with 粲 as a sound part; the simplified 灿 is a shorthand, and its right side is not a historical part.

Open 灿 →

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