---
title: "Canlan Meaning: 灿烂 (cànlàn) Means “brilliant”"
description: "灿烂 (traditional 燦爛, cànlàn) means “brilliant; splendid; bright”. Hear its tones, see what 灿 and 烂 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/canlan"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 灿烂 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

灿烂 cànlàn

## brilliant; splendid; bright

## Its characters

1. 灿 càn bright
2. 烂 làn rotten

## In a sentence

她笑得很灿烂。 She smiled brightly.

[More about 灿烂](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%81%BF%E7%83%82)

## More words with 灿 or 烂

- [摆烂 bǎilàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bailan)

## Keep 灿烂 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fcanlan) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Type pinyin with tone marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-tone-marks)

[The best Chrome extensions for Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chrome-extensions-for-chinese)