橘黄 (jú huáng) — orange (color)

Definition

A specific shade of orange — like a ripe tangerine — rather than the broader color category (橙色).

adjective
orange (color)

Examples

  • 橘黄。
    Tā chuān le yí jiàn jú huáng sè de qún zi.
    She wore an orange dress.
  • 橘黄。
    Qiū tiān de shù yè biàn chéng le jú huáng sè.
    In autumn, the leaves turn orange.
  • 橘黄。
    Zhè fú huà yòng le hěn duō jú huáng hé hóng sè.
    This painting uses a lot of orange and red.

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.

橘júorange
黄huángyellow

橘 supplies the orange reference and 黄 the yellow hue, together describing an orange-yellow color.

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
矞
矞yù橘jú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

橘 has 木 on the left, showing a tree, and 矞 on the right, giving the sound.

Open 橘 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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