きらめく

き

ら

め

く

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

glitter; sparkle; twinkle; glisten; gleam

usually written using kana alone

Describes light reflecting off a surface in a bright, flickering way; often used for stars, jewels, water, or eyes.

夜よ空ぞらに星ほしがきらめいている。
Stars are twinkling in the night sky.

彼かの女じょの目めが喜よろこびできらめいた。

Her eyes sparkled with joy.

Written forms

きらめくUsage85%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 煌めく and 煌く are uncommon and 燦めく is rare.
煌きらめくUsage8%
irregular okurigana
Irregular okurigana variant; rarely used.
煌きらめくUsage6%
Kanji form with standard okurigana; literary or stylistic use.
燦きらめくUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; not commonly encountered.

Kanji

煌glitter, gleam, twinkle
燦brilliant

Similar words

輝かがやく
輝く is a more general and common word for shining brightly, while きらめく emphasizes a flickering, sparkling quality.
光ひかる
光る is a broad term for emitting light; きらめく specifically suggests glittering or twinkling with many small points of light.

Etymology

The word is likely of mimetic origin, related to the sound-symbolic root きら (kira), which represents glittering or sparkling. The exact derivation is uncertain.