Meaning of 色彩
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- tint; coloring; coloration
- (fig.) flavor; character
How to use 色彩
色彩 describes color in a more formal or artistic way than 颜色 (yánsè), and it is often used figuratively for the flavor or character of something. Example: 这幅画的色彩很丰富。(Zhè fú huà de sècǎi hěn fēngfù.) The colors in this painting are very rich.
色彩 (sècǎi) joins 色 (sè), the color you already know from 红色 (hóngsè), with 彩 (cǎi), which has three slanting strokes 彡 on the right like streaks of paint. Picture brush streaks adding color to a plain surface.
Common mistake: Learners often use 色彩 where 颜色 is natural, as in asking 你喜欢什么色彩. In everyday questions about a specific color, say 你喜欢什么颜色 (yánsè) instead. Also keep the tones straight: sè is fourth tone and cǎi is third tone.
色彩 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
色 sè · color · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
彩 cǎi · color · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Related words
Words that share a character with 色彩.
| 颜色 | yánsè | color; countenance |
| 红色 | hóngsè | red (color); revolutionary |
| 黑色 | hēisè | black |
| 蓝色 | lánsè | blue (color) |
| 白色 | báisè | white; fig. reactionary |
| 绿色 | lǜsè | green |
| 黄色 | huángsè | yellow; vulgar; lewd; pornographic |
| 精彩 | jīngcǎi | wonderful; marvelous |
| 景色 | jǐngsè | scenery; landscape; view |
| 特色 | tèsè | a characteristic; a distinctive feature or quality |
| 彩色 | cǎisè | color; multicolored |
| 角色 | juésè | role; part (in a play or movie etc); also pr. [jiao3se4] |
Questions about 色彩
What does 色彩 mean?
色彩 (sècǎi) means "tint; coloring; coloration; (fig.) flavor; character" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 色彩?
色彩 is made of 2 characters: 色 (6 strokes), 彩 (11 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 色彩 an HSK word?
Yes. 色彩 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 色彩 mean when it is not about color?
It can mean a tone, flavor, or coloring of ideas. For example, 浪漫色彩 (làngmàn sècǎi) means a romantic flavor, and 政治色彩 (zhèngzhì sècǎi) means a political tinge.
Which words often go with 色彩?
Common partners are 鲜艳 (xiānyàn, bright), 丰富 (fēngfù, rich), and 带有 (dàiyǒu, to carry). You will hear phrases like 色彩鲜艳 (bright colors) and 带有神秘色彩 (with a mysterious air).