Skip to content
Mandarin Pathways

Don't confuse with

明 (míng, bright) pairs 日 (sun — a box with one bar inside) with 月 (moon) — the light of sun and moon together. 朋 (péng, friend) instead repeats 月 twice — originally a picture of two people (or two strung shells) side by side. One sun + one moon = bright; two moons = friends.

Quick self-test