榮

róng

glory, honor; flourish, prosper

Meaning

  • Botanical: Blooming or lush foliage.
  • Prosperity: Peak of wealth, health, or state power and influence.
  • Honor/Glory: Public recognition, prestige, or high rank (specifically as a bestowed external status).

Grammar and usage

  • Verb: To bloom or flourish; can function transitively to mean "bringing honor to" (e.g., a family or sovereign).
  • Adjective: Glorious, splendid, lush.
  • Noun: Honor, glory, distinction.

Distinctions

  • Status vs. Virtue: Often contrasted with internal moral goodness; may denote superficiality—a "blossom" that lacks a root.
  • The 榮/辱 Binary: Frequently paired with 辱 (disgrace, shame) to describe the volatility of fortune or the fragility of reputation (榮辱).

History and forms

  • Variant: Simplified form 荣 (U+8363) is an orthographic variant with no shift in semantic weight.

Translator notes

  • In nature scenes, prioritize botanical descriptors ("blooming," "lush," or "flourishing") over social terminology.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.