光明磊落
guāng míng lěi luò · HSK 7
straightforward and upright
☀️ 光 light + 明 bright; 磊 = three 石 stones piled out in the open = nothing hidden
光明 means light plus bright. 磊 stacks three 石 (stone) characters into a heap of rocks lying fully in the open. Together the idiom describes conduct that is bright and out in the open, with nothing concealed: open, candid, upright.
光 — fire 火 (top) + person 儿 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a person with fire above their head, depicting a torchbearer or the radiance from a flame. The character evolved to mean 'light' or 'brightness' in general, and by extension 'glory' and 'to shine.' The modern top component is a stylized form of 火 (fire).
落 — grass radical 艹 + 洛 (water 氵 + 各)
Originally written with the grass radical 艹 over 洛, depicting leaves falling from plants. 洛 serves as the phonetic component (giving the luò sound) while 艹 supplies the meaning of vegetation. The sense extended from 'leaves falling' to the general meaning of falling, dropping, or settling down.