Writing Balance Rule: The left side (良) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (月) acts as a solid vertical anchor balancing the character.
1. Meaning
bright and clear
loud and clear (referring to sound)open and straightforward (referring to personality)
AdjectiveNeutral#weather#light#personality
Sample Usage
今天天气晴朗。
jīn tiān tiān qì qíng lǎng.
The weather is sunny and clear today.
他的声音洪亮。
tā de shēng yīn hóng liàng.
His voice is loud and clear.
2. Sound
/[lɑŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
朗
lǎnglang3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=lǎng
Initial Consonant
l
Type: Alveolar Lateral
Sounds like: l sound as in 'love'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge behind upper front teeth.
Final Rhyme
ang
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: ang rhymes with 'sung' with an 'ah' mouth opening
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahng'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down like a questioning English sentence ending in a low pitch before rising back up in surprise.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, changes to a Tone 2 (rising 35) syllable.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the low-dipping Tone 3 with the flat Tone 1 or sharp Tone 4, especially in rapid speech where Tone 3 can sometimes compress into a half-third tone.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from your chest and sweep up to your chin.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (良) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (月) acts as a solid vertical anchor balancing the character.
4. Components
Radical月 · Moon Radical (moon, flesh)
Semantic Clue (形旁):月 (Provides the semantic field of night, sky, and illumination.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):良 (original sound: liáng)
The bright moon (月) shines alongside good (良) clear skies, creating a bright and clear atmosphere.
良 phonetic and semantic hint for goodness/brightness
月 moon or flesh radical, representing night illumination
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
13· Phonetic Root: 良 (liáng)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from 良 (liáng, good/clear) and 月 (yuè, moon), originally depicting a bright moon illuminating the night sky with clear light.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the literal brightness of the moon to any clear, bright state, including weather, sound, and a clear, honest personality.
Often used in classical poetry to describe autumnal moonlight and vast open landscapes.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
lãng
Corresponds to the Vietnamese hỏi/ngã or ngang series depending on historical strata, matching smooth nasal finals.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ロウ / Kun: あきらか
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
랑
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared root vocabulary across East Asian literary terms involving clarity or waves (e.g., 浪).
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Under the bright MOON (月), GOOD (良) friends enjoy a CLEAR and BRIGHT night sky.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
浪
làngwaveWater element added for sea waves.
娘
niángmother/young womanWoman element added for mother.
粮
liánggrain/provisionsRice element added for food.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
良(liáng)
良 means good and lacks the moon radical on the right.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
今天天气非常晴[___]。
Clue: lǎng
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the right-side component with the sun character (日) instead of the moon character (月).
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 朗, what tone and primary English meaning come to mind?
Production: How do you write the character for 'clear/bright' (lǎng) using the moon radical and the 'good' phonetic component?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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朗lǎngclear, bright
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