ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
灯
lamp; light
dēng
6 strokes · 火 (fire radical) + 丁 (nail, sound dīng→dēng) · HSK 2
灯 in traditional Chinese
燈
What 灯 is made of
火 + 丁 = 灯
丁nail
Where 灯 comes from
Fire 火 tamed to a point: the traditional 燈 used 登 'to ascend' as sound — flame climbing a wick. Simplified 灯 swapped in 丁 for economy. From oil lamps to LEDs, the character kept its little fire.
灯 in Chinese culture
元宵节 the Lantern Festival closes Spring Festival with 灯会 lantern fairs and 猜灯谜 riddle-guessing hung from lanterns — a thousand-year-old quiz show. 红绿灯 traffic lights rule modern streets; 开夜车 studying under lamplight rules exam season.
Example
开灯 kāi dēng — to turn on the light
天黑了，请开灯。
Tiān hēi le, qǐng kāi dēng.
It's dark — please turn on the light.
How to remember it
Fire 火 pinned like a nail 丁 to the wall — a LAMP.
灯红酒绿 'lamps red, wine green' paints nightlife in four characters — neon before neon existed.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 灯
开灯 kāi dēng
to turn on the light
红绿灯 hónglǜdēng
traffic light
Related characters
LEARN 灯 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 455-character HSK library · iOS