expression, godan verb (-ku)
shine brilliantly; shine radiantly
Literary expression describing something that gleams or sparkles with exceptional brightness, often used in poetic or dramatic contexts.
夜空に星が燦然と輝いていた。
The stars shone brilliantly in the night sky.
Standard kanji spelling for this literary phrase.
Variant kanji form; 粲 is a rare alternative to 燦.
Combination of the adverb 燦然 (さんぜん, 'brilliantly') and the verb 輝く (かがやく, 'to shine'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is used in classical and literary Japanese.