烛

燭

zhú

火 + 虫

Definitions

zhú (noun) candle

zhú (verb) to illuminate

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 火 represents the meaning and 虫 represents the sound. Simplified form of 燭.

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 虫

About

烛 is a phono-semantic compound combining the fire radical 火 on the left, which indicates fire and burning, and the phonetic component 虫 on the right. It is a simplified form of 燭, where the traditional phonetic 蜀 was replaced by 虫, keeping the same sound and meaning. The character denotes a candle or torch, and also serves as a verb meaning to illuminate or shine light upon something, a usage found in classical poetry and modern lighting compounds.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

点燃那支蜡烛。

Diǎn rán nà zhī là zhú。

Light that candle.

烛光下的晚餐很浪漫。

Zhú guāng xià de wǎn cān hěn làng màn。

Dinner by candlelight is very romantic。

她喜欢在烛台旁看书。

Tā xǐ huān zài zhú tái páng kàn shū。

She likes to read by the candlestick.

烛芯需要剪短一些。

Zhú xīn xū yào jiǎn duǎn yì xiē。

The candle wick needs to be trimmed.

微弱的烛光勉强照亮房间。

Wēi ruò de zhú guāng miǎn qiǎng zhào liàng fáng jiān。

The faint candlelight barely illuminates the room.

他的生命如风中之烛。

Tā de shēng mìng rú fēng zhōng zhī zhú。

His life is like a candle in the wind。

烛影摇红，映照着她的脸庞。

Zhú yǐng yáo hóng, yìng zhào zhe tā de liǎn páng。

The red candle shadow flickered, illuminating her face。

这支蜡烛将烛照我们前进的道路。

Zhè zhī là zhú jiāng zhú zhào wǒ men qián jìn de dào lù。

This candle will illuminate the path ahead for us。

Related Characters

Component: 火

Component: 虫

烛