油光 (yóuguāng): glossy

Meanings

1 glossy
2 shiny (with grease)
3 slick
4 oily-bright

Characters

油

Examples

他头发抹得油光发亮。

Tā tóufa mǒ de yóuguāng fāliàng.

His hair was slicked back, glossy and gleaming.

桌面擦得油光可鉴。

Zhuōmiàn cā de yóuguāng kějiàn.

The tabletop has been polished until it shines like a mirror.

Tips

usage

Often a slight whiff of overdone-ness — hair so slick with pomade you could see your face in it. The fixed phrase 油光可鉴 (yóuguāng kějiàn, 'so shiny you can mirror yourself in it') is famous from Lu Xun's essay 《藤野先生》, describing Chinese students' over-oiled hairstyles in Tokyo.