Meaning of 黄色
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- yellow
- vulgar; lewd; pornographic
How to use 黄色
黄色 is the everyday word for the color yellow, and it often comes before a noun with 的. It also has a second meaning of pornographic or lewd, as in 黄色电影 (huángsè diànyǐng) adult film. Example: 我喜欢黄色的花。(Wǒ xǐhuan huángsè de huā.) I like yellow flowers.
黄色 is built from 黄 (huáng) yellow plus 色 (sè) color, so it literally reads as "yellow color." Picture a field of yellow grain glowing in the sun to link 黄 with its color.
Common mistake: Learners often say 黄色 with the wrong tones. It is second tone huáng followed by fourth tone sè. Also be careful with phrases like 黄色网站 or 黄色书, because they mean pornographic websites or books, not yellow ones.
黄色 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.
黄 huáng · yellow · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
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- 9
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- 11
色 sè · color · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
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- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 黄色.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 黄金 | huángjīn | gold; golden (opportunity) |
Questions about 黄色
What does 黄色 mean?
黄色 (huángsè) means "yellow; vulgar; lewd; pornographic" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 黄色?
黄色 is made of 2 characters: 黄 (11 strokes), 色 (6 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 黄色 an HSK word?
Yes. 黄色 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 黄色 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 黄色 is written 黃色.
Why does 黄色 mean pornographic in Chinese?
In modern Chinese, 黄色 is used for sexual or lewd content, in the same way English uses "blue" for dirty jokes. The context usually makes the meaning clear. Words like 黄色电影 or 黄色笑话 point to the vulgar sense.
Can I just say 黄 instead of 黄色?
Yes, in many phrases. You can say 黄衣服 (huáng yīfu) yellow clothes, and 黄 alone is common as a predicate, as in 叶子黄了 (yèzi huáng le) the leaves turned yellow. 黄色 is the fuller noun form you use when naming the color itself, like the other color words 红色, 蓝色 and 绿色.