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“light”
Language contexts for this entry: Japanese, Chinese
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[çi̥ka̠ɾʲi] · Japanese
01 / Meaning & origin
光 is a unisex given name documented in Japanese and Chinese. English Wiktionary traces it to Old Japanese. Its character means “light” (KANJIDIC2).
3 source accounts
Meaning: “light”
⟨pi₁kari⟩ → */pʲikari/ → /ɸikari/ → /hikari/ From Old Japanese. Nominalization of the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 光(ひか)る (hikaru, “to shine, to glitter, to gleam”).
Nominalization of the verb 光(ひか)る (hikaru, “to shine, to glitter, to gleam”).
/kʷau/ → /kʷɔː/ → /kɔː/ → /koː/ From Middle Chinese 光 (MC kwang). Compare modern Mandarin 光 (guāng), Hakka 光 (kông), and Min Nan 光 (kong).
02 / Across borders
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0 countries with published statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.
2 of 2 countries
03 / By the numbers
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No official statistics are imported for this spelling. No statistical dataset covering this spelling has been imported yet. See data coverage.
04 / Through time
People recorded with this given name in Wikidata. Their names may use a different spelling, or include it as a middle or baptismal name.
Chinese politician, writer, and historian during the Northern Song dynasty (1019–1086)
Chinese actor and singer (1921-1999)
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06 / Behind the facts
Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.
Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.
