天色 (tiān sè) — color of the sky; time of day (judged from the…

Definition

Literary/formal word for what the sky tells you — the time of day or incoming weather. Most common in the set phrases 天色渐暗 and 天色尚早.

noun

color of the skytime of day (judged from the sky)weather (as indicated by the sky)

天色，。
tiān sè Jiàn àn, wǒ men gāi huí jiā le.
It's getting dark; we should go home.
，。
Kàn zhè tiān sè, míng tiān yīng gāi huì fàng qíng.
Looking at the sky, tomorrow should clear up.
天色，。
tiān sè Shàng zǎo, bú yòng zháo jí.
It's still early; no need to rush.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

天 gives the sky and 色 gives its color, so the meaning extends to time of day.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Appears in