聪明

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 聪明 (cōngmíng) is composed of two characters: 聪 (cōng) and 明 (míng). The character 聪 originally meant "to hear clearly" or "to understand quickly". It is composed of the radical 耳 (ěr), which means "ear", and the phonetic component 从 (cóng), which is a simplified form of the character 叢 (cóng), meaning "dense" or "thick". The character 明 originally meant "bright" or "clear". It is composed of the radical 日 (rì), which means "sun", and the phonetic component 皿 (mǐn), which is a simplified form of the character 皿 (mǐn), meaning "plate" or "dish".When combined, the two characters 聪 and 明 form the word 聪明, which means "intelligent" or "clever". The word 聪明 is often used to describe someone who is quick to learn and understand things, or who is good at solving problems. It can also be used to describe someone who is creative or imaginative.