虹

hóng

工 + 虫

Definitions

hóng (noun) rainbow

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 工 represents the sound. Originally was a pictograph of a creature, with two heads on each end, that resembled a rainbow.

Semantic: 虫 Phonetic: 工

About

虹 is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 虫 (chóng, 'insect, worm, reptile') conveys the general meaning, and 工 (gōng) supplies the sound. The character's early form, however, was a pictograph, a creature with a head at each end, arched like a rainbow, revealing that ancient people saw rainbows not as optical effects but as living, two-headed serpents or dragons stooping to drink from rivers. Because of this mythological identity as a snake-like animal, it was classified under the 虫 radical. Its modern meaning is simply 'rainbow'.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

彩虹非常美丽。

Cǎihóng fēicháng měilì.

Rainbows are very beautiful.

我看到一道彩虹。

Wǒ kàndào yī dào cǎihóng.

I see a rainbow.

雨后就会有彩虹。

Yǔ hòu jiù huì yǒu cǎihóng.

After rain, there will be a rainbow.

天空中的彩虹像一座桥。

Tiānkōng zhōng de cǎihóng xiàng yī zuò qiáo.

The rainbow in the sky looks like a bridge.

彩虹让我感到很开心。

Cǎihóng ràng wǒ gǎndào hěn kāixīn.

The rainbow makes me feel very happy.

这道彩虹比昨天的更鲜艳。

Zhè dào cǎihóng bǐ zuótiān de gèng xiānyàn.

This rainbow is more vibrant than yesterday's.

因为阳光和雨水，所以出现了彩虹。

Yīnwèi yángguāng hé yǔshuǐ, suǒyǐ chūxiànle cǎihóng.

Because of sunlight and rain, a rainbow appeared.

在暴风雨过后，东方天空挂起了一道绚丽的彩虹。

Zài bàofēngyǔ guòhòu, dōngfāng tiānkōng guàqǐle yī dào xuànlì de cǎihóng.

After the storm, a brilliant rainbow hung in the eastern sky.

Related Characters

Component: 工

Component: 虫

虹