About
The character 明 is structurally composed of the components 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), an etymological representation of light emanating from these two celestial sources. Its primary meaning of brightness or illumination gradually expanded to include abstract notions of clarity, such as intellectual understanding in compounds like 明白, and temporal sequence, as seen in 明天 for the following day. This semantic extension also led to its application as the name of the Ming dynasty, drawing upon its core connotations of luminosity. In its standard orthographic form, the character continues to be constructed from the juxtaposition of 日 and 月.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
明天是周一。
我明白你的意思。
这个房间很明亮。
请明确你的目标。
他发明了新机器。
我们需要更明确的计划。
明天如果天气晴朗，我们就去公园。
科学家们正在研究如何利用太阳能来发明更环保的能源。