Meaning of 明显
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- clear
- distinct
- obvious
How to use 明显
明显 describes something easy to notice, like a change, a difference, or a feeling. It can also work as an adverb before a verb or adjective, often with 地 or directly. Example: 他明显不高兴。(Tā míngxiǎn bù gāoxìng.) He is obviously unhappy.
明 (míng) combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), the two brightest things in the sky, so it means bright and clear. Add 显 (xiǎn, to show) and you get something shown so brightly that everyone can see it: obvious.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 明显 with 明白 (míngbai). 明白 means to understand or clear in meaning, while 明显 means visibly obvious, so say 我明白了 (I understand), not 我明显了.
明显 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
明 míng · bright · 8 strokes
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显 xiǎn · to make visible · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 明显.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 说明 | shuōmíng | to explain; to illustrate |
| 明星 | míngxīng | star; celebrity |
| 证明 | zhèngmíng | proof; certificate |
| 显然 | xiǎnrán | clearly; evidently; obviously |
| 显示 | xiǎnshì | to show; to illustrate |
| 发明 | fāmíng | to invent; an invention |
| 表明 | biǎomíng | to make clear; to make known |
| 文明 | wénmíng | civilized; civilization |
| 明确 | míngquè | clear-cut; definite; explicit; to clarify; to specify; to make definite |
Questions about 明显
What does 明显 mean?
明显 (míngxiǎn) means "clear; distinct" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 明显?
明显 is made of 2 characters: 明 (8 strokes), 显 (9 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 明显 an HSK word?
Yes. 明显 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 明显 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 明显 is written 明顯.
What is the difference between 明显 and 显然?
明显 is an adjective and can describe a noun, as in 明显的变化 (an obvious change). 显然 (xiǎnrán) is mostly used as an adverb meaning evidently, often at the start of a sentence, as in 显然他错了 (Evidently he was wrong).
Can 明显 be used with 很 or other degree words?
Yes. You can say 很明显 (very obvious), 非常明显, or 越来越明显 (more and more obvious). 很明显 is also common at the start of a sentence to mean clearly or obviously.