彗星 (huìxīng): comet

Measure Word

一颗彗星 kē

哈雷彗星每七十六年出现一次。

Hāléi huìxīng měi qīshí liù nián chūxiàn yī cì.

Halley's Comet appears once every 76 years.

昨晚我看到了一颗彗星。

Zuówǎn wǒ kàndào le yī kē huìxīng.

I saw a comet last night.

memory

彗 originally meant 'broom' — ancient Chinese saw comets as broom-shaped stars sweeping across the sky. Hence 彗星 = broom star.

mistakes

Do not confuse 彗星 (huìxīng, comet) with 慧星 (huìxīng, variant). The correct character is 彗 (broom), not 慧 (wisdom).

彗 huì

星 xīng