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虹

hóng
noun #41,993

Meanings

  1. 1 rainbow

Examples

HSK 5
雨后天空出现了一道美丽的彩虹。
Yǔ hòu tiānkōng chūxiàn le yí dào měilì de cǎihóng.
After the rain a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky.
HSK 5
孩子们兴奋地追着彩虹跑。
Háizi men xīngfèn de zhuī zhe cǎihóng pǎo.
The children chased after the rainbow excitedly.

Tips

history
The everyday word is 彩虹 (rainbow). Ancient people imagined the rainbow as a giant arching dragon or serpent drinking from the river, which is why 虹 is written with the insect-and-reptile radical.

Components

radical
虫 chóng
insect; reptile
The insect/reptile radical 虫 reflects the old belief that a 虹 was a serpent-like creature bridging the sky.
phonetic
工 gōng
work; labor
工 supplies the sound element (drifted from gōng to hóng) and carries no meaning here, acting as the phonetic part.

Stroke Order

虹 hóng