Colours in Chinese
A colour in Chinese is its character plus 色, “colour”: 红色, 白色. Many colours carry a meaning of their own in China.
- 红色 hóngsè red — The colour of luck, joy and weddings; on Chinese stock charts red means prices are rising.
- 白色 báisè white — The colour of mourning and funerals, so it is avoided at celebrations and weddings.
- 黑色 hēisè black
- 蓝色 lánsè blue
- 绿色 lǜsè green — A green hat (绿帽子) means a cheated-on husband, so it is never given to men as a gift.
- 黄色 huángsè yellow — The imperial colour in old China; in speech 黄色 also means "obscene".
- 橙色 chéngsè orange — Same character as the fruit: 橙子.
- 紫色 zǐsè purple
- 粉红色 fěnhóngsè pink
- 灰色 huīsè grey
- 棕色 zōngsè brown
- 咖啡色 kāfēisè coffee brown
- 褐色 hèsè dark brown
- 金色 jīnsè golden
- 银色 yínsè silver
- 天蓝色 tiānlánsè sky blue — Literally "sky-blue colour".
- 深蓝色 shēnlánsè dark blue
- 浅蓝色 qiǎnlánsè light blue
- 青色 qīngsè blue-green — The character 青 once covered blue, green and near-black: 青草 is green grass, 青天 a blue sky.
- 深绿色 shēnlǜsè dark green
- 浅绿色 qiǎnlǜsè light green
- 草绿色 cǎolǜsè grass green
- 米色 mǐsè beige — Literally "rice colour".
- 酒红色 jiǔhóngsè burgundy — Literally "wine red".
- 肉色 ròusè flesh-coloured
- 彩色 cǎisè colourful, in colour
Questions and answers
How do you ask “what colour?” in Chinese?
什么颜色？ shénme yánsè? Answer with the colour plus 的: 红色的 “a red one”. Before a noun: 红色的车 “a red car”, or simply 红车.
Why is red the colour of celebration?
Red 红 hóng stands for luck and joy: red envelopes of money (红包), red lanterns at New Year, a bride's red dress. Rising prices on Chinese stock charts are red too.
Why not give someone a green hat?
戴绿帽子 “to wear a green hat” means a man's wife is cheating on him. Green itself is fine; just not as a hat.
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