How to Write 咣 (guāng) — Meaning “bang; clang (onomatopoeia)”

Picture a bright flash of light (光) appearing with a sudden loud "GUANG!" sound, like a metal door slamming. The mouth radical (口) reminds you it's a sound, and the light inside makes the noise feel dramatic and surprising.

Write the left 口 small and toward the top, then the right part 光 with a slightly upward-tilting horizontal on top. The final stroke of 光 is a hook (not a straight line), and a common mistake is making the 口 too big or flattening the top horizontal of 光.

咣 has the mouth radical and means a sound (bang/clang), while 君 (jūn) means a ruler and has a different right part (尹 plus 口). 吝 (lìn) means stingy and has 文 on top with 口 below. Visually, 咣's right side is 光 (light), not 尹 or 文, and only 咣 is an onomatopoeia.

咣 is used in informal writing like novels, comics, or chat to describe loud metallic or heavy sounds, such as 咣当 (crash) or 咣的一声 (with a bang). Repeating it as 咣咣 emphasizes continuous banging, often adding a humorous or dramatic effect.

Common words containing 咣 include: 咣当 (guāng dāng) — bang; crash; clang; 咣的一声 (guāng de yī shēng) — with a bang; 咣咣 (guāng guāng) — banging; clanging sound.