彩 meaning and stroke order
Color, hue; prize; brilliant; variegated
How to write 彩, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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- 11
Meaning of 彩
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bright) color
- variety
- applause
- applaud
- lottery prize
How 彩 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hair.
彡 gives the meaning and 采 hints at the sound.
Radical: 彡 (hair), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 彩
彩 combines 采 (cǎi), which gives the sound, with 彡, three strokes that suggest hair or brush strokes. Picture someone picking (采) colors and painting them on with three bright brush strokes (彡).
彩 appears mostly in compound words about color, brilliance, and prizes, such as 彩色 (cǎisè) color, 彩虹 (cǎihóng) rainbow, and 彩票 (cǎipiào) lottery ticket. One of the most common words is 精彩 (jīngcǎi), used to praise a show, game, or speech. Example: 这场比赛很精彩。(Zhè chǎng bǐsài hěn jīngcǎi.) This match was wonderful.
Common mistake: Learners often write 采 (cǎi, to pick) or 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish) when they mean 彩. Same sound, different meaning: only 彩 has the three slanted strokes 彡 on the right, and only 彩 means color.
Common words with 彩
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 精彩 | jīngcǎi | wonderful; marvelous | HSK 3 |
| 彩色 | cǎisè | color; multicolored | HSK 3 |
| 色彩 | sècǎi | tint; coloring; coloration; (fig.) flavor; character | HSK 4 |
| 彩票 | cǎipiào | lottery ticket | HSK 5 |
| 彩虹 | cǎihóng | rainbow | HSK 7-9 |
| 光彩 | guāngcǎi | luster; splendor | HSK 7-9 |
| 喝彩 | hècǎi | to acclaim; to cheer | HSK 7-9 |
| 丰富多彩 | fēngfù-duōcǎi | richly colorful | HSK 7-9 |
| 彩电 | cǎidiàn | color television (abbr. for 彩色電視|彩色电视[cai3 se4 dian4 shi4]) | HSK 7-9 |
| 彩霞 | cǎixiá | clouds tinged with sunset hues | HSK 7-9 |
| 张灯结彩 | zhāngdēng-jiécǎi | to be decorated with lanterns and colored banners (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 彩排 | cǎipái | dress rehearsal; to have a dress rehearsal | |
| 彩蛋 | cǎidàn | painted eggshell; Easter egg | |
| 云彩 | yúncai | (coll.) cloud |
彩 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 彩
How many strokes are in 彩?
彩 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 彩 mean?
彩 (cǎi) means color, hue; prize; brilliant; variegated. A common word with it is 精彩 (jīngcǎi), meaning "wonderful; marvelous".
How do you pronounce 彩?
彩 is pronounced cǎi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 彩?
The radical of 彩 is 彡, which carries the idea of "hair". Dictionaries list 彩 under this radical.
Is 彩 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 彩 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 彩 and 色?
色 (sè) is the basic word for color, as in 红色 (hóngsè) red. 彩 suggests bright, multiple, or decorative colors and rarely stands alone. They combine in 彩色 (cǎisè) multicolored and 色彩 (sècǎi) coloring.
How do you say to cheer or applaud using 彩?
Use 喝彩 (hècǎi), meaning to cheer or acclaim. Example: 观众为他喝彩。(Guānzhòng wèi tā hècǎi.) The audience cheered for him.