烁 (shuò) is a Chinese character meaning “to shine”. It is written from 火 (fire) and 乐 (happy; music (simplified from 樂)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to glimmer”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
火 + 乐
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰火乐），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：9 画 = 左「火」4 画 + 右「乐」5 画；繁体作「爍」，右旁为「樂」，简化后写作「乐」。只描述今形构成。
Memory aid
Fire (火) on the left, 乐 on the right: a flame at play, never holding still — it flickers, glints and shimmers.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 闪烁shǎn shuòto twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer烁 = shuò
Go deeper
All readings
to glimmer
to shine; to glimmer; to flicker (of light)
光亮闪动的样子，多用于「闪烁」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 闪烁shǎn shuòto twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer烁 = shuò
Sound component
乐 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 烁 mean?
烁 (shuò) means to shine; to glimmer; to flicker (of light).
How do you pronounce 烁?
It is pronounced shuò.
What parts is 烁 made of?
火 (fire) and 乐 (happy; music (simplified from 樂)), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰火乐），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：9 画 = 左「火」4 画 + 右「乐」5 画；繁体作「爍」，右旁为「樂」，简化后写作「乐」。只描述今形构成。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 烁 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 烁?
火. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 烁?
Common ones are 闪烁. The reading of 烁 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.