粦 (lín) · will-o'-the-wisp; phosphorescent marsh light (archaic)

Meanings

1 will-o'-the-wisp; phosphorescent marsh light (archaic)

Characters

粦

lín

will-o'-the-wisp; marsh light (archaic)

Examples

HSK 7-9

磷在黑暗中会发出微光。

Lín zài hēi'àn zhōng huì fāchū wēiguāng.

Phosphorus glows faintly in the dark.

Tips

history

粦 ('marsh fire / will-o'-the-wisp') is archaic and not used independently in modern Chinese. It survives as the phonetic in 磷 (phosphorus), 鳞 (fish scale), 邻 (neighbor), 怜 (to pity), and 嶙 (jagged rocks).

Components

semantic

米 mǐ

scattered glints

The top stands for scattered points of light rather than rice grains, picturing the flickering glow of 粦.

semantic

舛 chuǎn

two feet / dancing legs

The 'crossed feet' below suggest the wandering, drifting motion of marsh lights, completing the picture in 粦.

Stroke Order

粦 lín

Related Words

乘 shèng #2,691

(archaic) four-horse military chariot / (archaic) classifier for war-chariots; four / historical record; chronicle

红灯 hóngdēng #6,730

red light / traffic light (red)

淡 dàn HSK 5 #7,420

bland; tasteless; light (flavor) / light (color); pale / indifferent; lukewarm

关灯 guāndēng #9,268

to turn off the light / to switch off the light

莱 lái #1,886

name element / goosefoot (archaic plant name)

点心 diǎnxin HSK 5 #4,821

dim sum / pastry / light refreshment / snack

发光 fāguāng HSK 6 #5,128

to emit light; to shine; to glow

光明 guāngmíng HSK 5 #4,099

bright / light / promising

抹 mǒ HSK 7-9 #3,923

to smear; to apply (cream, paint, ointment) / to wipe across; to swipe / to erase; to cross out; to blot out / classifier for wisps of cloud, beams of light, a touch of color

薄 báo HSK 5 #5,281

thin (of flat objects: paper, fabric, slices) / light; weak (of flavor, color, density) / cold; indifferent (of manner)