晶

jīng
noun #13,435

Meanings

  1. 1 crystal
  2. 2 sparkling; bright

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhè kuài shuǐjīng jīngyíng-tītòu.
This crystal is sparkling and translucent.
HSK 7-9
Yèjīng xiǎnshìpíng yuèláiyuè báo le.
LCD screens are getting thinner and thinner.

Tips

memory
三个 日 - three suns (日) stacked together. When sunlight hits a crystal, it sparkles as if three suns are shining.

Components

radical
日 rì
sun; day
Top 日 is the indexing radical - pictograph of the sun with a dot inside marking its radiance. The single sun at the top of the stack establishes 晶 firmly in the family of light and brightness with 明, 星, 晴.
semantic
日 rì
sun; day
Lower-left 日 - second of three suns. Three suns together depict overwhelming brightness, the original meaning of 晶 as "shining brilliance." Later the sense narrowed to "crystal" - a substance that sparkles as if catching three suns at once.
semantic
日 rì
sun; day
Lower-right 日 - third of three suns completing the cluster. Triplication is a common Chinese ideographic move for intensification: 木->森 forest, 火->焱 flames, 日->晶 dazzling. The three-suns picture remains transparent: bright beyond bright.

Stroke Order

晶 jīng