明月

Mandarin · pinyin míng yuè

Meanings

  1. bright moon
  2. refers to 夜明珠, a legendary pearl that can glow in the dark
  3. Classifier: 輪 lún
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Characters in this entry

明
míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
月
yuè · moon; month; Kangxi radical 74
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · ming2 yue4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming4 jyut6

Cantonese word readings for 明月. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

  1. bright moon (Classifier: 輪/轮; 彎/弯)
  2. a kind of legendary pearl that shines at night
  3. (literary, figurative) pearl; jewel
  4. (literary, figurative) teardrop
  5. (literary) next month

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack