红绿灯 (hónglǜdēng) · traffic lights

红绿灯 (hónglǜdēng) means “traffic lights”. It is written with 3 characters: 红 (red) + 绿 (green) + 灯 (lamp). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

How 红绿灯 is built

The characters

红 hóng · red

What 红 is made of

纟sī — silk
- 一 — horizontal stroke
工gōng — labor
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丄shàng — above
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
  - 一 — horizontal stroke

Origin hint: 纟 gives the meaning, 工 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

绿 lǜ · green

What 绿 is made of

纟sī — silk
- 一 — horizontal stroke
录lù — to copy
- 彐jì — snout
  - 二 — two strokes
- 氺shui — structural part
  - 亅 — hook

Origin hint: 纟 gives the meaning, 录 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

灯 dēng · lamp

What 灯 is made of

火huǒ — fire
- 丷ha — kwukyel
  - 丶 — dot
- 人rén — person
丁dīng — male adult

Origin hint: 火 gives the meaning, 丁 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

前面有一个红绿灯。Qiánmiàn yǒu yí ge hónglǜdēng.There's a traffic light ahead.

过马路要看红绿灯。Guò mǎlù yào kàn hónglǜdēng.Watch the traffic lights when crossing the road.

Questions about 红绿灯

What does 红绿灯 mean?

红绿灯 (hónglǜdēng) means “traffic lights”.

How do you pronounce 红绿灯?

红绿灯 is pronounced hónglǜdēng.

Which HSK level is 红绿灯?

红绿灯 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025).

Related words

Learn 红绿灯 with its group

It is part of HSK 3 · Group 17: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group