晃荡
huàng dang · HSK 7
to sway
🔔 huàng dang sounds like hwong-dong, a bell swinging back and forth to ring dong
晃 = 日 sun + 光 light (a wavering shimmer); 荡 holds 汤 (a sloshing broth) under grass. Together they mean to rock, sway, or slosh back and forth, just like that hwong-dong bell swinging on its rope.
晃 — sun 日 + bright 光 (also phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of brightness, while 光 (light) supplies both meaning and sound. Originally it depicted dazzling sunlight, hence 'bright, dazzling.' The reading huàng later extended to 'sway, shake,' as if shimmering light wavers.