明亮
míngliàng
In Chinese, the English word "bright" can be translated in several ways depending on the context, with the default form being 明亮 (míngliàng). Wiktionary also lists 亮 (liàng) and 明 (míng).
Meaning: emitting much light, visually dazzling (adj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 明亮 | míngliàng |
| 亮 | liàng |
| 明 | míng |
The term is used to describe something emitting much light or being visually dazzling. While 明亮 focuses on physical light or colors, the word 光明 is more common when speaking metaphorically about light, hope or a bright future.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 明亮 is a compound of two parts: 明, meaning bright or clear and 亮, meaning bright or light.
Which one should you use?
明亮 is primarily used to describe physical light or colors. In contrast, if you want to say a person is "bright" in terms of intelligence, you should use 聪明. For metaphorical brightness, such as a "bright future," 光明 is the preferred term.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because 明亮 is an adjective, it is often preceded by an adverb of degree like 很 to sound natural in a sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
míngliàng
Did you know?
- The ancient root for the word 明 may be cognate with Burmese words meaning 'acute' or 'violent'.
Examples in context
- 你有光明的未来。You have a bright future.This sentence uses 明 to refer to a bright future.Tatoeba #13069523 by maina, translation #17496 by CK
- 我喜歡明亮的顏色。I like bright colors.This sentence uses 亮 to describe bright colors.Tatoeba #4455614 by egg0073, translation #1129941 by ellasevia
- 湯姆不是很聰明吧？Tom isn't very bright, is he?This sentence uses 明 in the context of intelligence.Tatoeba #13832442 by LeviHighway, translation #3489134 by CK
- 阳光是光明的象征。(Yángguāng shì guāngmíng de xiàngzhēng.)Sunlight is a symbol of brightness.
- 这个房间很明亮。(Zhège fángjiān hěn míngliàng.)This room is very bright.
- 这灯很亮。(Zhè dēng hěn liàng.)This light is bright.
- 天上的星星闪闪发光。(Tiānshàng de xīngxing shǎnshǎn fāguāng.)The stars in the sky sparkle and shine.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A bright living room during the day.
- 浩然 Haoran这里的灯光真明亮。Zhèlǐ de dēngguāng zhēn míngliàng.The light here is really bright.
- 梓涵 Zihan是啊，感觉很舒服。Shì a, gǎnjué hěn shūfú.Yes, it feels very comfortable.
- 浩然 Haoran梓涵，你喜欢这种风格吗？Zǐhán, nǐ xǐhuān zhè zhǒng fēnggé ma?Zihan, do you like this style?
- 梓涵 Zihan我很喜欢。Wǒ hěn xǐhuān.I like it very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bright” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 亮, 明, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
