What does 光 mean in Chinese?

光 (guāng) means "light; ray; bright; only; merely; to use up" in Chinese. The new HSK exam tests it at HSK 4.

How do you pronounce 光?

光 is pronounced "guāng" in Mandarin Chinese. The tone number is 1.

What HSK level is 光?

光 is an HSK 4 word on the new HSK exam syllabus. It is HSK 4 on both the old and the new exam.

What words contain the character 光?

Common words with 光 include 不光 (not the only one), X光 (X-ray), 三光 (the sun, the moon, and the stars), 亮光 (light), 仰光 (Yangon (Rangoon), main city of south Myanmar (Burma), the national capital until November 2005, when the capital moved to Naypyidaw 内比都 or Pyinmana 彬馬那彬马那).

How do you write 光?

You can practice writing 光 using our stroke order tool.

光 (guāng), light

光

guāng

light; ray; bright; only

HSK 4classifierverb

Character Breakdown

Radical: 儿 (no. 10)

View stroke order →

Definitions

(classifier, verb) light
ray
bright
only
merely
to use up

Classifier: 道 (dào)

Example Sentences

房间里的光线很暗。

Fángjiān lǐ de guāngxiàn hěn àn

The light in the room is very dim

Words Containing 光

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
不光	bù guāng	not the only one	HSK 4
X光	X guāng	X-ray
三光	sān guāng	the sun, the moon, and the stars
亮光	liàng guāng	light
仰光	Yǎng guāng	Yangon (Rangoon), main city of south Myanmar (Burma), the national capital until November 2005, when the capital moved to Naypyidaw 内比都 or Pyinmana 彬馬那彬马那

Related Words

光明(guāng míng)· light

→

半劳动力(bàn láo dòng lì)· one able to do light manual labor only

→

只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯(zhǐ xǔ zhōu guān fàng huǒ , bù xǔ bǎi xìng diǎn dēng)· only the official is allowed to light the fire

→

昱(yù)· bright light

→

HSK levels

New HSK exam: HSK 4
HSK 2.0: HSK 4
HSK Lord study list: HSK 3 list

光: HSK 4 on both the old and the new exam. See where your old level lands

New exam levels follow the CLEC syllabus released 15 November 2025. The first official sitting is announced for 13 December 2026. HSK 7-9 is one advanced band.

On the new HSK 4 exam

Studying for HSK 4? Keep 光 with the rest of your level.

HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.

Start studying free The words new HSK 4 adds

Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.