黄色

• Pinyin: huáng sè
• Hanzi breakdown: 黄 (huáng) — yellow; 色 (sè) — color

Meaning

Yellow (the color). The noun form referring specifically to the color yellow.

Used when discussing yellow as a specific color choice. Note that in colloquial Chinese, 黄色 can also be a euphemism for pornographic content, so context matters. In most everyday situations it simply means the color.

Examples

1. 我喜欢黄色的花。 I like yellow flowers.
2. 她的书包是黄色的。 Her school bag is yellow.
3. 你要红色的还是黄色的？ Do you want the red one or the yellow one?

Usage Guide

Context: colors, shopping, preferences

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我要黄色的那个。(I want the yellow one.)
• 黄色是很明亮的颜色。(Yellow is a very bright color.)

Don't Say

• 注意语境中黄色的双重含义 (Be aware that 黄色 can mean pornographic in slang — in mixed company, stick to clearly color-related contexts)

Origin & History

Compound of 黄 (yellow) and 色 (color). The addition of 色 turns the adjective into a specific color noun.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal