明 (míng): bright, tomorrow
明 (míng) is a Chinese character meaning “bright, tomorrow.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 日 (structural) and 月 (structural). It ranks #121 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 明 the light of the sun 日 and moon 月. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 早 (zǎo, early, morning), 时 (shí, time, hour).
Definitions
- bright, tomorrow
Etymology & Origin
ideographicThe light of the sun 日 and moon 月
Decomposition: ⿰日月 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 明 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 明
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 明白adjective/verb | míng bai | clear | 3 |
| 明天noun | míng tiān | tomorrow | 1 |
| 证明verb/noun | zhèng míng | proof | 4 |
| 聪明adjective | cōng ming | intelligent | 3 |
| 明显adjective | míng xiǎn | clear | 5 |
| 说明verb/noun | shuō míng | to explain | 4 |
| 明星noun | míng xīng | star | 5 |
| 表明verb | biǎo míng | to make clear | 5 |
| 发明verb/noun | fā míng | to invent | 5 |
| 明年noun | míng nián | next year | 1 |
| 明确adjective/verb | míng què | clear-cut | 5 |
| 光明noun/adjective | guāng míng | light | 5 |
| 明明adverb | míng míng | obviously | 6 |
| 文明noun/adjective | wén míng | civilized | 6 |
| 透明adjective | tòu míng | transparent | 6 |
| 明亮adjective | míng liàng | bright | 6 |
| 说明书noun | shuō míng shū | (technical) manual | 4 |
| 鲜明adjective | xiān míng | (of colors) bright | 6 |
| 照明verb | zhào míng | lighting | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三明治noun | sān míng zhì | (loanword) sandwich |
| 明早noun | míng zǎo | tomorrow morning |
| 明晚noun | míng wǎn | tomorrow evening |
| 声明noun | shēng míng | to state |
| 明智adjective | míng zhì | sensible |
| 不明verb | bù míng | not clear |
| 黎明noun | lí míng | dawn |
| 查明verb | chá míng | to investigate and find out |
| 明信片 | míng xìn piàn | postcard |
| 精明adjective | jīng míng | astute |
| 高明adjective | gāo míng | brilliant |
| 明了adjective | míng liǎo | variant of 明瞭|明了 |
| 失明verb | shī míng | to lose one's eyesight |
| 本杰明proper-noun | běn jié míng | Benjamin (person name) |
| 明日noun | míng rì | tomorrow |
明 appears in 116 compound words: 39 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 6 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 明 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (55)
to not know the inside story; to be unfamiliar with the details of the situation
Although I don't know what you are saying or doing, I think you are (or it is) amazing.
to think one is discerning and shrewd for focusing on minutiae, but neglecting the bigger picture
Although I don't know what you are saying or doing, I think you are (or it is) amazing.
to think one is discerning and shrewd for focusing on minutiae, but neglecting the bigger picture
Showing 12 of 55 idioms containing 明.
Example Sentences
明天的会议改到下午三点，请大家注意时间调整。
Míngtiān de huìyì gǎi dào xiàwǔ sān diǎn, qǐng dàjiā zhùyì shíjiān tiáozhěng.
Tomorrow's meeting has been moved to 3 PM; please note the time change.
明真相大陆民众新年感恩:大法师父好
míng zhēn xiāng dà lù mín zhòng xīn nián gǎn ēn : dà fǎ shī fù hǎo
The people of the mainland are grateful for the New Year: Hello Master Dafa
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught in the act! Philippine Maritime Police Drop Unidentified Objects in South China Sea
谱写春日序曲!明城墙遗址公园梅花绽放
pǔ xiě chūn rì xù qū ! míng chéng qiáng yí zhǐ gōng yuán méi huā zhàn fàng
Composing the Prelude to Spring! Plum Blossoms Bloom at Ming City Wall Ruins Park
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Philippine Coast Guard deploys unidentified objects in the South China Sea
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
Philippine Coast Guard caught red-handed deploying unidentified objects in South China Sea; surveillance footage released
你明早7点来接我吗？
Nǐ míngzǎo qī diǎn lái jiē wǒ ma?
Are you picking me up at 7 tomorrow morning?
明天会不会又很热？
Míngtiān huìbùhuì yòu hěn rè?
Will it be hot again tomorrow?
你明天这个时候会是在做什么？
Nǐ míngtiān zhège shíhou huì shì zài zuò shénme?
What'll you be doing at this time tomorrow?
你不可以把它延迟到明天吗？
Nǐ bù kěyǐ bǎ tā yánchí dào míngtiān ma?
Can't you put it off until tomorrow?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 明 (míng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 明 and 暧?
How many strokes does 明 have?
What is the radical of 明?
What are the components of 明?
What are common words containing 明?
What characters sound the same as 明 (míng)?
Is 明 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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