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A phono-semantic compound, 熳 combines the fire radical 火 with the phonetic 曼 on the right. Primarily a bound morpheme, it appears most often in the compound 烂熳, meaning brightly colorful or brilliant, as in blooming flowers or glowing lights. In literary usage, 烂熳 can also describe an innocent, unaffected naturalness or an uninhibited, carefree disposition in a person's behavior or emotions. Rarely used independently, the character conveys visual intensity and unconstrained brilliance rooted in its fiery semantic origin.
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