光
ひかり
hepburn hikari
light, ray
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 朝の光が部屋に差し込みます。Morning light streams into the room.
- 希望の光が見えてきた。A ray of hope has begun to appear.
Collocations
光 (hikari, light)光る (hikaru, to shine, verb)日光 (nikkou, sunlight)月光 (gekkou, moonlight)希望の光 (kibou no hikari, light of hope)
Mnemonic
Hikari (光) is the noun "light" and the root of hikaru (to shine). Beyond physical light (sun, lamp), it extends metaphorically — kibou no hikari (light of hope), eikou (glory), hikaru mono (a shining = standout thing). The Shinkansen "Hikari" is the historic mainline name (Tokyo–Shin-Osaka), paired with Kodama and Nozomi. The kanji 光 = 日 (sun) + 儿 (person's legs) — visual intuition of sunlight reaching a person. Korean "bit / banjjak / bitnada" matches. Where English distinguishes count and mass light, Japanese uses one form.
Quick check
Idiomatic meaning of "hikaru mono"?