燦

A phono-semantic compound:

火 (fire) — semantic component, indicates fire, light, brightness;

粲 (찬) — phonetic component, provides the sound "chan" and also carries the idea of clarity or brilliance.

Thus, 燦 originally means "fire shining brightly" → radiant brilliance.

Unlike 爛 (which later developed negative meanings), 燦 preserved its positive meaning throughout history.

찬란 (燦爛) — brilliant; splendid

찬연 (燦然) — dazzling

燦 belongs to the semantic group of:

- light;

- brightness;

- brilliance;

- bplendor.

It expresses:

- strong, dazzling brightness;

- noble or magnificent radiance.

It symbolizes:

- cultural splendor;

- moral brilliance;

- glorious achievement.

Related characters:

光 — light; radiance

明 — bright; clear

爛 — originally bright

炫 — to shine; to dazzle

耀 — shine; glitter