光 (guāng): light; ray

Meanings

1 light; ray
2 only; merely
3 bare; smooth

Characters

光

guāng

light; ray; only; bare

Depicts fire on a person — the glow of light.

Examples

阳光很温暖。

Yángguāng hěn wēnnuǎn.

The sunlight is warm.

光说不做是没用的。

Guāng shuō bù zuò shì méiyòng de.

Just talking without doing is useless.

月光照在湖面上。

Yuèguāng zhào zài húmiàn shàng.

Moonlight shone on the lake surface.

Tips

usage

光 as an adverb means 'only/merely' in colloquial Chinese: 光说不做 (all talk no action). As a noun it means 'light'. As an adjective it means 'bare/smooth'.

memory

The character 光 looks like a person carrying a torch — fire on top of a person below.

Components

radical

兀 wù

person; legs

Bottom 兀 is a stylised seated person, here the indexing radical 儿 (legs/person) in its 兀 variant. 光 originally depicted a person carrying or wearing fire — a torch-bearer. Hence the senses 'light, brightness, glory.' Same legs anchor 元, 兄, 先, 见.

semantic

⺌ xiǎo

small (radical form)

Top is a stylised flame or torch — historically the upper portion was 火 (fire), depicting the flame above someone's head. The modern shape resembles the 'small' compressed form ⺌ but the pedagogically helpful reading is 'flame / sparks rising upward,' supplying the radiant element of light.