About
The character for "star", 星, is a phono-semantic compound that visually and conceptually captures its meaning through its two components. The upper part, 日, represents the sun and broadly signifies a celestial body, while the lower component, 生, originally depicted a plant growing from the earth and here primarily provides phonetic suggestion. This structure reflects an ancient understanding of stars as luminous bodies born or generated in the heavens. Its core meaning has consistently referred to stars in the night sky, but this concrete meaning broadened over centuries to encompass any point of light, a spark, or a small mark. By metaphorical extension, the term also came to denote a prominent or celebrated person in a field, such as a theatrical or athletic star, mirroring the way a single star stands out against the dark sky.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
天上的星星很亮。
我喜欢看星星。
星星在夜空中闪烁。
北斗星是指路的好帮手。
天文学家研究星球。
星座的故事很有趣。
火星上可能有生命。
星际旅行是未来的梦想。