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虹

hóng
noun #41,993

Meanings

  1. 1 rainbow

Examples

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.
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