明

Ming2
#121 most
frequent character
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), surname Ming

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

明 joins 日 sun and 月 moon, and first meant 'moonlight'. From 'light' it grew to 'bright', 'clear', and 'to understand'. It also came to mean 'tomorrow' or 'next year', times when brightness returns.

Drawn as: moon

明 as a component in other characters

sound2 characters
盟萌

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Same Characters, Different Readings

明míng
bright, opposite: dark 暗[an4]

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