輝き々き

き

Meanings

taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle

brilliantly shining; glittering

Literary or poetic word describing light that shines brilliantly or glitteringly. Used as a taru-adjective or adverb with と. Rare in modern everyday speech.

星ほしが輝き々きと夜よ空ぞらに瞬またたいていた。
The stars were glittering brilliantly in the night sky.
彼かの女じょの瞳ひとみは輝き々きとして、まるで宝ほう石せきのようだった。
Her eyes were shining brilliantly, just like jewels.

Kanji

輝radiance, shine, sparkle

Related words

輝かがやく
Common verb meaning 'to shine' or 'to glitter'. 輝々 is a rare literary adjective/adverb derived from the same root, used to describe a state of brilliant shining.
きらきら
Common mimetic adverb for sparkling or glittering. 輝々 is more formal and literary, emphasizing brilliance rather than playful sparkle.

Written forms

輝き々き
Rare kanji spelling using iteration mark. The form 輝輝 is also attested but uncommon.
輝き輝き
Alternate kanji spelling without iteration mark. Both kanji forms are rare; the word is mostly encountered in literary contexts.

Etymology

Reduplication of the kanji 輝 (ki, 'shine'), forming a literary adjective/adverb. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it follows a pattern of reduplicated kanji compounds used in classical Japanese.