晶

Ideogrammatic compound:

Composed of three 日 (“sun”) characters.

Symbolizes many suns shining together, hence brilliance, brightness, and clarity.

Oracle bone script shows several variants:

Five squares in a cross formation,

Four squares in a diamond (1–2–1) formation,

Three circles with dots inside arranged in a triangle, each representing the sun.

The form with three suns (日日日) survived and became the standard character.

水晶 (수정) — crystal, quartz

晶體 (정체) — crystal structure, crystal body

晶瑩 (정영) — bright, sparkling, lustrous

晶光 (정광) — dazzling light

Associated with radiance, purity, and enlightenment due to its connection with the sun’s brilliance.

In Buddhism, 水晶 (crystal) symbolizes purity of the mind and is sometimes used as a metaphor for clarity in meditation.

In modern science, 晶 refers to crystals and crystallization (e.g., 結晶 “to crystallize”).