Meaning of 颜色
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- color
- countenance
- appearance
- facial expression
- pigment
- dyestuff
How to use 颜色
颜色 is the everyday word for color and is used for clothes, cars, paint and anything else you can see. A common question is 你喜欢什么颜色？(Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yánsè?) What color do you like? In fixed phrases it can also mean a stern look, as in 给他点颜色看看 (gěi tā diǎn yánsè kànkan), meaning teach him a lesson.
颜 (yán) means face, and 色 (sè) means color, so 颜色 is literally the color of a face. Picture someone's face turning red, and you have the idea of color.
Common mistake: Learners often say 色 (sè) with the wrong tone or read it as shǎi. In 颜色 it is fourth tone sè, and the shǎi reading is colloquial and appears in other words. Also, a specific color is usually 红色 (hóngsè), not 红颜色, unless you want to stress the word color.
颜色 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.
颜 yán · face · 15 strokes
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色 sè · color · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 颜色.
| 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 |
| 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] |
| 出色 | chūsè | remarkable; outstanding |
| 色彩 | sècǎi | tint; coloring; coloration; (fig.) flavor; character |
Questions about 颜色
What does 颜色 mean?
颜色 (yánsè) means "color; countenance" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 颜色?
颜色 is made of 2 characters: 颜 (15 strokes), 色 (6 strokes). That is 21 strokes in total.
Is 颜色 an HSK word?
Yes. 颜色 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 颜色 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 颜色 is written 顏色.
Do I need 色 after a color word like 红?
Before a noun you can often drop it, as in 红车 (hóng chē) red car, but 红色的车 is also common. When the color stands alone as a noun, use 红色 (hóngsè).
Do any color words have hidden meanings in Chinese?
Yes. 黄色 (huángsè) can mean pornographic, as in 黄色电影 (a pornographic film). 红色 (hóngsè) can mean revolutionary, and 白色 (báisè) can figuratively mean reactionary. Keep these meanings in mind before using these words loosely.