颜色

• Pinyin: yán sè
• Hanzi breakdown: 颜 = 彦 (elegant) + 页 (head/page), the look of a face; 色 = depicts a person kneeling, originally meaning facial expression

Meaning

Colour. Refers to the visual property of objects such as red, blue, green, etc.

This is the standard word for colour in Chinese. Common colour words include 红色 (hóngsè, red), 蓝色 (lánsè, blue), 白色 (báisè, white), and 黑色 (hēisè, black). Note that 色 alone can also mean colour but is more literary. The phrase 给他点颜色看看 is an idiom meaning to teach someone a lesson.

Examples

1. 你喜欢什么颜色？ What colour do you like?
2. 这件衣服的颜色很好看。 The colour of this piece of clothing is very nice.
3. 她买了三种颜色的花。 She bought flowers in three colours.

Usage Guide

Context: shopping, daily description

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这个颜色太深了。(This colour is too dark.)
• 你想要什么颜色的？(What colour do you want?)

Don't Say

• 它的色是红 (Too literary and incomplete — say 它的颜色是红色的; in everyday speech, use 颜色 not 色 alone)

Origin & History

A compound of 颜 (yán, face/appearance) and 色 (sè, colour/hue). Originally 颜 referred to the space between the eyebrows, and 色 meant the expression on one's face. Together they evolved to mean colour in general.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal