燈 meaning and stroke order
Lamp, lantern, light
How to write 燈, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 燈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lamp
- light
- lantern
How 燈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 登 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 燈
燈 combines fire 火 (the meaning) with 登 (dēng, the sound). Picture a flame 火 climbing up 登 a pole to become a street lamp.
燈 is the traditional form, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mainland China writes it as 灯, so the common words appear as 灯光, 电灯 and 台灯 in simplified text. Example: 請把燈關掉。(Qǐng bǎ dēng guāndiào.) Please turn off the light.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 燈 with 登 (dēng, to climb) or 蹬 (dēng, to step on), which share the same sound and phonetic part. Only 燈 has the fire radical 火 on the left. Also keep the first tone. Do not say děng, which sounds like 等 (to wait).
Common words with 燈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 燈光 | dēngguāng | (stage) lighting; light | HSK 4 |
| 電燈 | diàndēng | electric light | HSK 4 |
| 檯燈 | táidēng | desk lamp; table lamp | HSK 6 |
| 紅燈 | hóngdēng | red light | HSK 7-9 |
| 燈泡 | dēngpào | light bulb; see also 電燈泡|电灯泡[dian4 deng1 pao4] | HSK 7-9 |
| 綠燈 | lǜdēng | green light (traffic signal); (fig.) permission to proceed | HSK 7-9 |
| 燈籠 | dēnglong | lantern | HSK 7-9 |
| 路燈 | lùdēng | street lamp; street light | HSK 7-9 |
| 張燈結彩 | zhāngdēng-jiécǎi | to be decorated with lanterns and colored banners (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 開燈 | kāidēng | to turn on the light | |
| 燈塔 | dēngtǎ | lighthouse | |
| 熄燈 | xīdēng | turn out the lights; lights out | |
| 聚光燈 | jùguāngdēng | spotlight | |
| 車燈 | chēdēng | vehicle light (headlight, turn indicator etc) |
Questions about 燈
How many strokes are in 燈?
燈 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 燈 mean?
燈 (dēng) means lamp, lantern, light. A common word with it is 灯光 (dēngguāng), meaning "(stage) lighting; light".
How do you pronounce 燈?
燈 is pronounced dēng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 燈?
The radical of 燈 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 燈 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 燈?
燈 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 灯, used in mainland China and Singapore.
How do you say turn on and turn off the light in Chinese?
Say 開燈 (kāi dēng) for turn on the light and 關燈 (guān dēng) for turn off the light. In simplified characters these are 开灯 and 关灯.
What does 電燈泡 mean as slang?
Literally 電燈泡 (diàndēngpào) is a light bulb. As slang it means a third wheel, someone who tags along with a couple on a date.