光环
guāng huán · HSK 7
halo
😇💍 光 guāng = light + 环 huán = ring; a ring of light around a head
光 means light or shine; 环 means ring or loop (same 环 as in 环形 ring-shaped). Together they name the glowing ring of light a halo. 环 huán echoes the round shape of a hoop.
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).
环 — jade radical 玉/王 + 睘 (huán phonetic)
环 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 王 (a form of 玉 'jade') gives the meaning, since the original sense was a circular jade ring worn as an ornament. The right side 睘 supplies the sound 'huán'. From 'jade ring' the meaning broadened to 'ring, loop, encircle,' and in modern Chinese also 'environment' in 环境.