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女色 (nǚ sè) — female charms, feminine allure; (often pejorative) lust for women, lewdness

Definition

Literary/archaic term usually appearing in moralizing contexts — refers to sexual allure of women, framed as a temptation men succumb to. Carries a strongly negative, often pejorative tone.

noun
female charmsfeminine allure(often pejorative) lust for womenlewdness

Examples

  • 女色。
    Tā yīn wèi tān liàn nǚ sè ér fàn le cuò wù.
    He made a mistake because of his indulgence in female charms.
  • 女色。
    Gǔ dài dì wáng cháng yīn nǚ sè ér wáng guó.
    Ancient emperors often lost their kingdoms due to female charms.
  • 女色。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng tàn tǎo le nǚ sè yǔ quán lì de guān xì.
    This film explores the relationship between female charms and power.

Origin

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.

女nǚfemale
色sèbeauty or sexual allure

女 means female, and 色 refers to beauty or sexual allure, giving feminine allure.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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

  • 爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

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

Open 色 →
Appears in
Romance & Marriage

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