灵

靈
líng
noun HSK 7-9 #1,745

Meanings

  1. 1 spirit; soul; supernatural
  2. 2 nimble; clever; effective

Examples

HSK 3
Zhège fāngfǎ hěn líng.
This method works well.
HSK 4
Tā de shǒu hěn língqiǎo.
Her hands are very nimble.
HSK 6
Línghún shì shénme?
What is a soul?

Tips

usage
灵活 = flexible, 灵魂 = soul, 灵感 = inspiration, 机灵 = clever.

Components

radical
火 huǒ
fire
Bottom 火 is the fire radical and the indexing radical of 灵. Its presence ties the char to ritual fire - shamans (the 巫 hidden in traditional 靈) communicated with spirits through smoke and flame. Modern 灵's senses of 'spirit, soul, effective, clever' all descend from that ritual context.
semantic
彐 jì
pig's snout; hand-with-broom
Top 彐 is a hand-shape component used in many chars (扫, 雪, 当). In simplified 灵 it stands in for the elaborate top of traditional 靈 - three 口 above 巫 (shaman) - compressed by the 1956 reform into this stylised hand. So 彐 here is graphic residue.

Stroke Order

灵 líng