光 (guāng): light, ray, bright, shiny, only, merely
光 (guāng) is a Chinese character meaning “light.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺌ (structural) and 兀 (structural). It ranks #290 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 光 a person 儿 carrying a torch 火. Its radical form 儿 (legs) appears in many related characters such as 儿 (ér, child), 元 (yuán, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)), 先 (xiān, beforehand).
Definitions
- light
- ray
- bright
- shiny
- only
- merely
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 儿 carrying a torch 火
Decomposition: ⿱⺌兀 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 光 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 光
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 时光noun | shí guāng | time | 6 |
| 阳光noun | yáng guāng | sunshine | 4 |
| 光临verb | guāng lín | (formal) to honor with one's presence | 5 |
| 灯光noun | dēng guāng | (stage) lighting | 5 |
| 光明noun/adjective | guāng míng | light | 5 |
| 发光verb | fā guāng | to emit light | 6 |
| 眼光noun | yǎn guāng | gaze | 6 |
| 不光adverb/conjunction | bù guāng | not the only one | 4 |
| 光线noun | guāng xiàn | light ray | 5 |
| 目光noun | mù guāng | gaze | 5 |
| 月光noun | yuè guāng | moonlight | 6 |
| 风光noun | fēng guāng | scene | 6 |
| 观光verb | guān guāng | to tour | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 光荣 | guāng róng | honor and glory |
| 光芒 | guāng máng | rays of light |
| 光彩 | guāng cǎi | luster |
| 耳光 | ěr guāng | a slap on the face |
| 光速 | guāng sù | the speed of light |
| 光头 | guāng tóu | shaven head |
| 光辉 | guāng huī | radiance |
| 光顾 | guāng gù | to visit (as a customer) |
| 光滑 | guāng huá | glossy |
| 光年 | guāng nián | light-year |
| 光亮 | guāng liàng | bright |
| 光环 | guāng huán | ring of light |
| 光阴 | guāng yīn | time available |
| 光光 | guāng guāng | bright |
| 光泽 | guāng zé | luster |
光 appears in 100 compound words: 71 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 光 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (39)
Light in August (novel by William Faulkner 威廉·福克納|威廉·福克纳[Wei1 lian2 · Fu2 ke4 na4])
Showing 12 of 39 idioms containing 光.
Example Sentences
学习光字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí guāng zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "光" requires repeated practice to write it neatly.
没有你想的那么光鲜 有些冬奥选手已私下在做一事
méi yǒu nǐ xiǎng de nà má guāng xiān yǒu xiē dōng ào xuǎn shǒu yǐ sī xià zài zuò yī shì
Not as glamorous as you think Some Winter Olympians are already doing something in private
强生扩大高附加价值品项 接单动能曝光!
qiáng shēng kuò dà gāo fù jiā jià zhí pǐn xiàng jiē dān dòng néng pù guāng !
Johnson & Johnson expands high value-added items and exposes the momentum of receiving orders!
...被人从5楼丢下“凶手抓到了” 虐狗原因曝光
. . . bèi rén cóng 5 lóu diū xià xiōng shǒu zhuā dào le nüè gǒu yuán yīn pù guāng
... was dropped from the 5th floor "The murderer was caught" and the reason for the dog abuse was exposed
.../闯入川普海湖庄园遭击毙 21岁嫌身分曝光!家人才刚报失踪
. . . chuǎng rù chuān pǔ hǎi hú zhuāng yuán zāo jī bì 2 1 suì xián shēn fēn pù guāng ! jiā rén cái gāng bào shī zōng
.../Breaking into Trump's Mar-a-Lago Manor and being killed, the 21-year-old suspect's identity was exposed! The family has just been reported missing
4宝爸出轨小三24次!性爱行事历曝光 人妻试图私了遭拒怒告索偿
4 bǎo bà chū guǐ xiǎo sān 2 4 cì ! xìng ài háng shì lì pù guāng rén qī shì tú sī le zāo jù nù gào suǒ cháng
4 Bao Dad cheated on the mistress 24 times! The sex calendar was exposed, and the wife tried to be private but was rejected and angrily sued for compensation
他英勇的行为带给了他光荣。
Tā yīngyǒng de xíngwéi dàigěi le tā guāngróng.
His acts of courage brought him glory.
所有的灯光同时灭了。
Suǒyǒu de dēngguāng tóngshí miè le.
All at the same time, the lights went out.
结冰的道路在阳光下闪闪发亮。
Jiébīng de dàolù zài yángguāng xià shǎnshǎn fāliàng.
The icy road sparkled in the sunlight.
我家昨晚给强盗光顾了。
Wǒ jiā zuówǎn gěi qiángdào guānggù le.
My house was broken into last night.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 光 (guāng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 光 and 潦?
How many strokes does 光 have?
What is the radical of 光?
What are the components of 光?
What are common words containing 光?
What characters sound the same as 光 (guāng)?
Is 光 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 光 with real-time feedback
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