Mnemonic
The sun refuses to set and the moon rises anyway. Both hang in the sky, stubborn and glowing. Their combined light makes everything impossibly bright—so bright that even shadows throw up their hands and vanish.
Additional thoughts
Picture a split sky: golden sun on the left, silver moon on the right, their light merging in the center into blinding white. This mirrors the kanji's left-right structure perfectly (日 + 月 = 明).Quick recall
Sun and moon share the sky, making the world impossibly bright.Details
The keyword for 明 is bright. This kanji combines the imagery of the sun and the moon, the two greatest sources of natural light, to convey the concept of brightness and clarity. It extends beyond physical luminosity to encompass ideas of clearness, lucidity, and enlightenment. It can also suggest openness, as in making something plain or evident, and is associated with wisdom and understanding.
- On'yomi
- めい、みょう、みん
- Kun'yomi
- あ.かり、あか.るい、あか.るむ、あか.らむ、あき.らか、あ.ける、-あ.け、あ.く、あ.くる、あ.かす