聪明 (cōng ming)

Character breakdown

• 聪 (cōng) · 15 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 耳 represents the meaning and 总 represents the sound. Simplified form of 聰.

• 明 (Míng) · 8 strokes

  The character was originally depicted moonlight (月) shining through a window (囧). The 囧 component was later reanalyzed as 日 (sun).