How to Write 炅 (jiǒng) — Meaning “bright; shining”

Picture a blazing fire (火) under a bright sun (日) — two powerful light sources combining to create an extremely bright shine. Imagine the sun is so hot that it catches fire, making the whole scene ‘炅炅’ (brightly shining).

Write the top radical 火 first: dot, left-leaning stroke, right-leaning stroke, then the bottom dot. Then write 日: left vertical, top horizontal, middle horizontal, bottom horizontal, right vertical. A common mistake is making the 火 too wide, so it touches the 日 below; keep them slightly separated.

炅 (jiǒng) means ‘bright’ and has 火 over 日. 灯 (dēng) means ‘lamp’ and has 火 next to 丁 (a nail-like shape). 灰 (huī) means ‘ash’ and has 火 over 又 (hand). The key visual difference is the bottom part: 炅 has 日 (sun), 灯 has 丁 (nail), and 灰 has 又 (hand).

炅 is rare in daily conversation and mostly appears in classical poetry or formal writings to describe brilliant light, like starlight or wisdom. It is also a Chinese surname, though not common. You may encounter it in literary phrases such as 炅炅 (brightly shining) or 炅辉 (brilliant radiance).

Common words containing 炅 include: 炅炅 (jiǒng jiǒng) — brightly shining; 炅然 (jiǒng rán) — brightly; 炅辉 (jiǒng huī) — brilliant radiance.