灯光
dēngguāng · HSK 4
lighting
💡 灯光 = 灯 (lamp) + 光 (light/ray)
灯 is the lamp itself; 光 is the light or rays it gives off. Together 灯光 names the illumination produced by a lamp — lamplight, stage lighting, or general indoor light.
灯 — fire radical 火 + ding 丁 (phonetic)
灯 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 火 'fire' gives the meaning (lamps once burned oil or flame), while 丁 hints at the sound. It is the simplified form of the traditional 燈, which used 登 as the phonetic. Today it means 'lamp' or 'light'.
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).