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Kanji Detail for 光 - "light, to shine"

光

  • Meaning

    光 means "light, to shine." Also associated with honor.

    1. Light - Radiance; brightness.

    2. To shine - To glitter; to illuminate.

    3. Honor - Fame; reputation.

    4. Scenery - Appearance; state.

    5. Blessing - Grace; favor.

    6. Time - Time; days.

    7. Honorific - A respectful word for others' actions. Example

  • Words using 光

    • 観光 かんこう Listen sightseeing; tourism
    • 光景 こうけい Listen scene; spectacle; sight
    • 日光 にっこう Listen sunlight; sunshine; sunbeams
    • 脚光 きゃっこう Listen footlight; limelight
    • 光栄 こうえい Listen honour; honor; glory
    • 栄光 えいこう Listen glory
    • 光線 こうせん Listen ray (of light); beam; light
    • 光学 こうがく Listen optics

  • Four-character idioms with 光

    • 光彩陸離 こうさいりくり Listen dazzling; brilliant
    • 光風霽月 こうふうせいげつ Listen serenity
    • 和光同塵 わこうどうじん Listen mingling with the world by hiding one's true talent or knowledge; living a quiet life by effacing oneself
    • 寂光浄土 じゃっこうじょうど Listen paradise
    • 眼光紙背 がんこうしはい Listen reading between the lines
    • 電光朝露 でんこうちょうろ Listen fleeting; evanescent

  • Origin of 光

    火, fire, carried on 儿, a kneeling person: light as flame borne aloft by someone. Illumination has a carrier built into the character.

    How to remember it: A person 儿 holding fire 火 above their head — a torchbearer: light.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 光

    • Verified meaning: light, to shine
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read あかり, あき, あきら, かいぜちゅう)
    • Also carries these associations: honor

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 光

    Given names 光(あかり)Listen 光(あき)Listen 光(あきら)Listen 光(きらら)Listen 光(こう)Listen 光(こうか)Listen

    Surnames 光(かいぜちゅう)Listen 光(こうくん)Listen 光(こうさき)Listen 光(こうざき)Listen 光(こうじ)Listen 光(こうしょう)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    ray; light

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    light, brilliant, shine; only

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    light; ray (CL:道[dao4]); bright; shiny; only; merely; used up; finished; to leave (a part of the body) uncovered

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    light; bright, brilliant; only, merely

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Light. What human eyes rely on to see objects. Today, the science studying the principles of light emission, light rays, and refraction is called 光學 (optics). | Glory. Such as addressing someone's visit as 光臨, 光降, meaning their visit brings glory. | Meaning of civilization. Such as 觀光上國 (visiting a great nation). Also 光復, meaning restoration, referring to what had fallen into darkness seeing light again. | Having a smooth and glossy meaning. Objects polished to perfection are colloquially called 光. | Having a meaning of exhaustion. All that is completely exhausted is colloquially also called 光.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    koh(コウ) コウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    hika.ru(ひか-る) ひか-る

    hikari(ひかり) ひかり

  • Strokes

    tip

    6 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    儿 (ninnyo・hitoashi)

  • Related Keywords

    light to shine honor blessing scenery time radiance beam brightness brilliance flash gleam glow illumination luminosity luster ray shimmer sparkle

Sentences including 光

  • It is a privilege to meet you.

  • Kyoto is visited by many tourists.

  • The moon doesn't have light of its own.

  • This room doesn't get a lot of sun.

  • She was left in the sun too long.

  • Did you go to nikko yesterday?

  • He was amazed at the sight.

  • I'm charmed to meet you.

  • Too much light hurts the eye.

  • We were surprised at the sight.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 儿 (ninnyo・hitoashi)

See all kanji with this radical →

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