灯 (dēng) · lamp; light

Measure Word

一盏灯 zhǎn

Meanings

1 lamp; light
2 lantern

Characters

灯

dēng

lamp; light

Fire radical 火 + 丁 (nail/small) - a small fire, i.e. a lamp.

Examples

HSK 1

请开灯。

Qǐng kāi dēng.

Please turn on the light.

HSK 3

灯关了。

Dēng guān le.

The light is off.

HSK 3

街上的灯很漂亮。

Jiē shàng de dēng hěn piàoliang.

The lights on the street are very pretty.

Tips

culture

灯笼 (lantern) is a symbol of Chinese culture. The 元宵节 (Lantern Festival) on the 15th day of the first lunar month features beautiful lantern displays.

usage

Common compounds: 红绿灯 (traffic light), 台灯 (desk lamp), 路灯 (street light), 灯笼 (lantern).

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire; flame

Left fire radical (Kangxi #86) in its full 4-stroke form - the indexing radical, picturing rising flames. Anchors the meaning: 灯 is any light source, originally an oil flame or candle, now extended to electric lamps. Same radical groups 烧 (burn), 炒 (stir-fry), 烟 (smoke), 焰 (flame).

phonetic

丁 dīng

nail; (man) fourth

Right phonetic 丁 (dīng) - supplies the sound, shifting to dēng. The simplified 灯 replaced traditional 燈's complex 登 phonetic with the much simpler 丁 to ease writing. Standalone 丁 means 'nail' or 'man' (sturdy as a nail) - a great phonetic substitute for any dīng/dēng/tīng reading.