五颜六色

• Pinyin: wǔ yán liù sè
• Hanzi breakdown: 五 = five (pictograph of five fingers); 颜 = 彦 (accomplished person, phonetic) + 页 (face/head), referring to colour or complexion; 六 = six; 色 = 刀 (knife) + 巴 (person kneeling), complexion or colour

Meaning

Colourful; multicoloured; of all colours.

A set four-character idiom (成语) describing something with many vivid colours. Used to describe visual scenes — flowers, clothes, lights, decorations. Also used figuratively to mean rich and varied. Always functions as an adjective or predicate.

Examples

1. 公园里五颜六色的花朵让人心情愉快。 The colourful flowers in the park put people in a happy mood.
2. 节日期间，街道上挂满了五颜六色的灯笼。 During the festival, the streets were hung with multicoloured lanterns.
3. 她的衣橱里有很多五颜六色的衣服。 She has many colourful clothes in her wardrobe.

Usage Guide

Context: descriptions, visual, everyday

Tone: vivid

Do Say

• 市场上摆满了五颜六色的水果。(The market stalls were full of colourful fruits.)
• 孩子们穿着五颜六色的衣服参加表演。(The children wore colourful costumes for the performance.)

Don't Say

• 他的想法五颜六色。(五颜六色 describes visual colour only — for abstract variety of ideas, use 各种各样 or 丰富多彩 instead.)

Origin & History

A Chinese 成语 (four-character idiom). 五颜 means 'five colours (faces/hues)' and 六色 means 'six colours,' together conveying a great variety of colours — the numbers are idiomatic, not literal.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal