彩霞

• Pinyin: cǎi xiá
• Hanzi breakdown: 彩 = 彡 (strokes) + 采 (to pick, phonetic); 霞 = 雨 (rain radical) + 叚 (phonetic component)

Meaning

Rosy clouds; colorful clouds, especially the vivid red, orange, and pink hues displayed by clouds at sunrise or sunset. A poetic term for the sky's colorful display at dawn or dusk.

Primarily a literary and poetic word rather than everyday speech. Used in descriptive prose, song lyrics, poetry, and place names. Often evokes romantic, nostalgic, or transcendent imagery. Contrasts with 白云 (white clouds) in emotional register — 彩霞 always carries aesthetic weight.

Examples

1. 夕阳西沉，满天彩霞将湖面渲染成浓烈的橙红，美得令人屏息。 As the sun sank in the west, the rosy clouds across the sky dyed the lake's surface a deep orange-red, a sight so beautiful it took your breath away.
2. 诗人伫立窗前，凝望远山上的晨霞，提笔写下了这首脍炙人口的词。 The poet stood by the window gazing at the morning glow over distant mountains, then picked up a brush and wrote this widely beloved ci-poem.
3. 婚礼选在户外草坪举行，傍晚的彩霞为新人提供了世界上最美的背景。 The wedding was held on an outdoor lawn, and the evening's colorful clouds provided the most beautiful backdrop in the world for the newlyweds.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, poetry, nature, art

Tone: poetic

Do Say

• 晚霞满天，美不胜收，忍不住多拍了几张照片。(The evening sky was filled with rosy clouds — the sight was breathtaking, and I couldn't help taking several more photos.)
• 她写了一篇描绘彩霞与远山的散文，发表在文学杂志上。(She wrote an essay depicting rosy clouds and distant mountains, which was published in a literary magazine.)

Don't Say

• 今天的彩霞很好吃。(彩霞 is a visual, poetic term for sky-clouds and is not edible — don't confuse poetic sky imagery with food vocabulary)

Origin & History

彩 (colorful) + 霞 (rosy clouds; 霞 = 雨 rain radical + 叚 phonetic component). A classical compound evoking the poetic imagery of colored sky at twilight.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal