The character 明 — “bright”: how to write it and what it means
bright, clear
The Chinese character 明 is read míng and means “bright, clear”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 明
明 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 明, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 明 is made of
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 明
- 明天tomorrowHSK 1
- 明年next yearHSK 1
- 聪明smartHSK 3
- 明白clear; understandHSK 3
- 说明explain; explanationHSK 4
- 证明prove; certificateHSK 4
- 说明书instructions, manualHSK 4
- 表明show, indicateHSK 5
- 明确clear; clearly defineHSK 5
- 明显obvious, evidentHSK 5
- 明星star (film, pop)HSK 5
- 光明light; bright (of the future)HSK 5
- 发明invent; inventionHSK 5
- 照明illuminate; lightingHSK 6
- 明明obviously, clearlyHSK 6
- 透明transparentHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 明?
明 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 明 mean?
明 means “bright, clear”. It appears in 明天 (“tomorrow”), 明年 (“next year”), 聪明 (“smart”), 明白 (“clear”).
How do you pronounce 明?
明 is read míng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 明 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 明 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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