月亮
yuèliàng · HSK 2
moon
🌙 月亮 = 月 (moon) + 亮 (bright) — literally 'bright moon'
月 is the classic moon radical, a pictograph of a crescent. 亮 means bright or shining. Together 月亮 names the moon as 'the bright one in the sky', distinguishing the celestial body from 月 alone, which often means 'month'.
月 — pictograph of crescent moon
月 is a pictograph of a crescent moon, chosen over a full circle to distinguish it from 日 (sun). The inner strokes originally depicted the moon's shadow or markings. As a radical it often relates to the moon, time, or (via a lookalike form of 肉 'flesh') body parts.
亮 — top 亠 + 口 + legs 儿
亮 originally depicted a person (儿) standing on a high platform (亠+口) where light reaches, conveying the idea of brightness from an elevated, open place. Over time it generalized to mean 'bright, light, clear,' and by extension 'loud/clear' for sounds.